Just a Feeling
by Hermione Jean Lupin
Summary: When the sister of a hunter toys with a ouiji board, she accidentally brings forth the ghost of a certain troublesome archangel. When a new threat shows up and wreaks havoc, they all find that the angel's return wasn't so accidental after all. GabrielOC
1. I Really Need to Know

Alexandra Hennessey glanced up at the ceiling as the lights flickered in her home. "What the Hell?" She turned around. "Hannah? Hannah!" Are you messing with the switches up there?"

There were four separate laughs, then her nineteen-year-old sister called 'no.' before laughing with the others.

Alexandra sighed. Sometimes she hated modern teenagers and how they just shrugged off people of authority. She wondered how bad she was when she was nineteen. She was in the middle of considering her past when she realized something. The girls had laughed nervously, not the typical 'whatever' laugh. " She huffed, put down her dishtowel, and headed up the stairs. No sense in asking what they were doing so they could hide the evidence. "Guys?" She pushed open the door and froze, going wide eyed. One of Hannah's friends, Jenna, had Alexandra's old spell book open her lap, and Hannah and her other two friends, Sally and Rachel, were hunched over a Ouija board. "No." She barely managed out. "Hell no. You will not do that in my house. You three, out now." She ordered.

"But Alex-" Hannah began.

"Out. Now!" Alexandra barked.

The three girls looked at Holly before leaving quickly. Alexandra didn't wait for them. She entered the room, scooping the book and the board up. She tossed them outside where they landed in a heap. She went back to her sister's room and let out a growl, ,. seeing a summoning circle with candles lit in each corner of the circle. "Damn it, Hann!"

"What? We were just messing around!" Hannah replied. "No one was getting hurt!"

"Mess…" Alexandra let out a disbelieving laugh. "Messing around? You know just as well as I do we can't quite 'mess around' with that shit, Hannah! Not to mention you do know people get hurt when you do!"

Hannah sighed. "Alex, it's been _three_ years!"

"And the attacks still come!" Alexandra replied. "We talked about this! When we agreed that us hunting needed to stop, we agreed we'd get rid of that stuff. You told me you threw it out when I asked you to toss it for me." She jabbed her finger at the objects. "You lied to me! Those are the reasons demons are still coming after us! You put us in danger with keeping it, Hannah!"

"I didn't know it was gonna be a problem!" Hannah said.

Alexandra put a hand up to silence her. "No. Just stop. I can't… after all we've gone through… you would think you would've learned, Hann. I… I can't even look at you right now." She scoffed. "You still shoulda known not to do this. Get rid of it now, or you can just as well go back to Mom and Dad's place." She headed into the living room and crossed her arms, standing in between the fireplace and the door into the backyard. She sighed, trying to collect herself.

"Whoa. Tough break."

Alexandra let out a yelp and whirled around. A man with medium length, slicked back blonde hair was standing on the other side of them room. It scared her that she hadn't so much as sensed another person in the room.

He smiled warmly. "Hi, there!"

She didn't reply so warmly. Having been a hunter, instinct took over. She grabbed the fireplace poker a couple of feet away, then brought it up and threw it at his shoulder. No sense killing him quite yet. The poker ended up going right through him- and through him like a through and through. Through him like there was no damage done and he wasn't even there. Stared in disbelief.

The man glanced down at the poker that was now embedded in the wall. "…Ow?"

Alexandra finally found her voice. "Who… who the Hell are you? Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, you're the hunter-"

"_Retired_, hunter."

The man waved his hand dismissively.. "Whatever. Once a hunter, always a hunter." He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned forwards. "Most people call me Gabriel. You, Pretty Lady, can call me Gabe."

Alexandra snorted, brushing off the last comment. "Wait… Gabriel, like the archangel?" Again, the hunter side of her kicked in. She was still weary, but now was more curious then worried. "…Wait… word has it that you… How...here?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Don't ask me. You're the-" he made air quotes "- '_retired_' hunter. You're the one and made me like this." He motioned at the poker through his shoulder. Alexandra wanted to know why he hadn't moved, and he could tell, so he did move aside. Like she thought, no damage. It just went through his arm as he walked away from it.

"Hey, don't you go _anywhere_." She ordered. "My sister was the one who toyed with the book and the board, so go bother her. Not me-"

Gabriel smirked. "This still counts against you, ya know."

She narrowed her eyes. "How?"

He laughed now. "Next time don't let the kiddies watch Van Helsing." He sighed. "I hate that movie. Such a miserable interpretation of… me. At least they paired me with Kate Beckinsale."

Alexandra stopped and blinked rapidly, still trying to process everything. Needless to say, she was failing… horribly. Having this mystery archangel/demon/whatever the hell he was going on tangents wasn't helping at all. "Whoa, whoa. Just… stop. Hold on a second and answer me, here."

"I thought I already was." Gabriel smirked.

She shook her head. "I just… this is just… you're a demon. You have to be a demon." She went to get the poker again.

"Hold on just a minute. Me? Demon? That's just plain rude."

"Then start talkin'. Why the Hell are you here?" Alexandra demanded, taking the poker out of the wall with little difficulty. "Faster answers make for a better chance of me not trying to kill you."

"Well, wouldn't stabbing me be out of the question since you just tried and the thing went through me. Last I checked, you can't kill ghosts, anyways."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's never stopped me from finding a way of killing people who aren't quite… helpful to me. Start answering and stop stalling." She hissed.

Gabriel put his hands up innocently. "Fine. Like you just said, your sister did it… probably saw my name in a book and thought seeing the 'monster hunter' would be cool."

Alexandra blinked. "Go on."

"Okay. Okay, take it easy. Look…" He clapped his hands together. "How skilled is your sister with spells, assuming both of you are hunters?"

"_Were_ hunters. What's that got to do with it?"

"Possibly nothing, possibly everything."

"How-"

"Just answer, Sweet Cheeks."

"Don't call me that."

"I don't know your name, so that's kinda hard. Anyways, just answer. Trust me." Gabriel replied.

Alexandra scoffed, then froze when she heard footsteps coming from another room. "Hannah, don't-"

Too late. The teenager entered the room, shrieked, much like her sister and stared at the archangel.

Gabriel did a two finger wave, then looked at Alexandra. "Good, she's legal."

The statement came across perverse in Hannah's mind, and she shrieked again, picking up a paperweight on the fireplace mantle. She tossed it at Gabriel's head, and much like the fireplace poker, it went right through his head, though this time he did flinch.

"Nice shot. I could've died if I wasn't halfway there already." Gabriel replied, then saw the girl prepare to scream. There was definitely a resemblance between the two. "Don't scream. This is your fault, anyway."

Hannah paused, then went to scream again, but Alexandra clapped a hand over her sister's mouth. "Okay, Gabriel. Talk to us. If you were a demon, you'd already have tried to kill us by now, I'll give you that, so I'll give you a chance. What's so good about her being legal?" She blinked, realizing why her sister reacted the way she did, then turned her attention back to Gabriel.

"Because you look like you came from a family who lets the kids hunt later." He turned to Hannah. "You're what, eighteen, nineteen… twenty? That's the age of beginners for the magic mumbo jumbo. That must explain this." He reached over next to him so his hand went through the wall.

"So if you go through walls, why aren't you going through the floor?" Alexandra demanded.

Gabriel shrugged. "That's the way things work up there, so I guess the same goes down here?"

Hannah broke the focus on the one topic. "Alex, tell me what the Hell is going on."

"Well, apparently when you girls messed around with the spell book you must've done a summoning spell." Alexandra replied

"But wouldn't something have happened inside the room? Why didn't you appear in the circle we had?" Hannah asked.

Alexandra raised her eyebrows. "You're taking all this in strides, aren't you?"

Gabriel pointed at the floor on the other side of the room where a large, dark, oval stain was. Water damage, he guessed . "Well, Hannah, I guess I found the closest thing. As far as the rest of the theatrics… "

"The lights flickered. I don't know about anything else." Alexandra replied.

"Right you are, Alex."

Alexandra shot him a glare.

He shrugged. "Hey, your sister said it. I didn't look into your mind or anything."

Alexandra shook her head. "Can we get back to what we were trying to figure out before she got here? Please? Why are you here?" She demanded.

"I told you. Your sister and her friends did a spell that brought me back from the dead. Impressive, being that I'm an archangel."

"Archangel? What?" Hannah gaped at him.

"Hon, Van Helsing doesn't exist. Gabriel the Archangel." He motioned at himself. "_Moi_, does. Read up on mythology next time you wanna play 'bring-cool-guys-back-from-the-dead… 'specially the ones that get murdered by their brother…."

"WHAT?" The girls chorused.

Gabriel smiled. "Story for another time. Anyway. Getting me back… ain't gonna happen 'til I do something… heroic. Save a kitten from a tree, put out a fire… save someone from an assassination." He shrugged off the last bit like it was nothing.

Alexandra nodded slowly. "So what does that mean?"

"My resurrection had… bad timing." He fished for the rest of the sentence. "The resurrected person, angel, demon, whatever, is stuck with the person who did the resurrection and their family until they do something… that would fit them."

Alexandra sighed. "Define 'stuck with.'" She still wasn't fully sold on his story, but he was already pissing her off, so if he was telling the truth, she wasn't looking forward to spending any more time then the fifteen minutes they had been speaking with him.

"As in I have to be around you guys a lot, and chances are, you guys are the only ones who can see me."

"And you know this… how?"

"Experience with an old pal back in the 1800s. Long story."

Alexandra blinked. " 'Scuse me. Stay put, you."

"Gabriel." Gabriel corrected.

"I know." She replied before dragging her sister into the kitchen. She went over to the sink, took the cup that was beside it. She turned on her heel and went back into the living room, closed the distance between her and Gabriel, who had obeyed and not moved. She tossed the contents at him. He closed his eyes and turned his head, but like the two other objects, the water went right through him.

After he opened them, Gabriel rolled his eyes, now growing impatient. "Are you satisfied I'm not evil now? I'm an angel! Trust me. I'm as confused as you right now."

"You seem to have all the answers, though." Alexandra replied.

"Well, _Alex_, they're more like educated guesses." Gabriel shot back.

Hannah watched the two glare at each other, not liking it one bit. There was something about him that she just trusted right away. She paused. Then again, she had liked Soren, and this Gabriel guy was quite like Soren so far. That might end badly for everyone. "Can we just try and do some research so we can figure out what the Hell to do, then."

"Deal." Alexandra replied, and Gabriel sighed. "You guys can, I only have what's up here since I probably can't turn pages." He strolled over to the bookshelf and went to poke a book, but his finger went through. "I can't even hold a book."

"Good, then we'll do it." Alexandra replied.

"So what can I do?" Gabriel asked.

"Nothing. Stay put here and just… try not to cause trouble in any form." She replied.

"Why don't you-"

"Hey, just because I might be stunned you're here, but I do remember the research I did on you and your buddies upstairs. You used to be a trickster. You may not be able to hold anything, but that doesn't mean you still can't cause trouble. I'm not taking any chances."

Gabriel smirked. Maybe this gal wasn't so bad. She was smart. "Alright, do what you need to do. I'll stay put."

"Yes, you will." She opened a box that was on the fireplace mantle and took out two large crystals.

"Aw, really? Protection crystals? You can't just take my word that I'll stay put?"

Alexandra smirked and gave one to her sister, who took it and put it in the archway that led to the entryway into the house. She stepped back into the kitchen with her own. "Like I said, you're a trickster. I'm not taking chances." She put down the other crystal in the arch between them. "Good luck trying to amuse yourself." She added before heading upstairs to find the spell book again.

Gabriel watched her, with his smirk back on his face. Yeah, he _definitely_ liked her.


	2. Wandered Out on the Open Road

The sisters ended up spending most of the night trying to research what was going on with the archangel. They were starting to believe that his story may not have been as ridiculous as it sounded, but any time they heard a noise, they still went down the stairs to investigate and make sure their guest wasn't causing trouble. In turn, he would just point out the window at a branch hitting the house, or a speeding car on the street. They ended up getting woken up by a loud crash around seven in the morning.

Alexandra was the first to get up, and despite remembering her last attempts at throwing something at Gabriel, she grabbed a candlestick before heading to the stairs, speeding up when she heard the archangel call 'It worked!' She growled under her breath, not at all liking the combination of the two sounds. "Hey! Where the Hell are you?" She stepped into the living room, and saw him in the corner by the television unit. He was looking down at a couple of books that had fallen off the unit, as well as the plastic plant. He looked up at her. "Oh, hi. You uh… weren't supposed to hear that."

"So I'd just have to clean up something that I'd have no clue got there, when you're the only one around and can't exactly touch anything?"

Gabriel shrugged, then smiled ."Not quite on that last part."

"Do I wanna know?"

Gabriel pointed at the books. "When you girls have been working on finding stuff about me and what mighta happened, I've been trying to get some… feeling back, pun intended."

"And…?" Alexandra arched an eyebrow.

Gabriel pointed at the books again. "I took a flying leap at this thing here and those went down when I hit it. I must be getting some… _solidity_ back." He replied, struggling for the last word.

"Good. Now that you have a bit of that back, you can clean up that mess."

"Deal." Gabriel nodded, squatting down and going to get the book, but his hand went right through. "…Damn it."

"Ugh. How'd I know? Move." She picked up the books and plant, putting both back up on the shelf. "Now, were you being lazy or did you honestly just… go back to being… you know… not… solid?"

Gabriel ran his hand through her arm. "Nope. Still like this."

Alexandra blinked. "You could just as easily be lying to me."

"Oh yes, because I'm afraid to pick up three little things that I could get easily. I went for them, didn't I?"

"Fair enough. I'm still not quite sure about you." She replied.

"Hm. Well, I'm just full of surprises." He smirked. The smirk didn't last long, being that she looked anything but amused. "O…kay, what about you guys? Anything on how I might've gotten like this?"

"A lot of theories, but no full answer. It does seem like it's a half-assed attempt at a resurrection spell."

"Toldja." Gabriel replied. "You gonna kill your sister?"

"Wha- no!" She scoffed. " Now I know why you were murdered. You never know when to shut up."

Gabriel glared at her now. "You watch it!"

"Ooh, you do have another mode other than sarcastic idiot. What're you gonna do? Put your head through my stomach?"

Gabriel scowled. "Just… the whole murder thing is off limits." He arched an eyebrow. "Comprende?"

"Si." Alexandra nodded. "So, Gabriel…" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"So, Alexandra." He replied, crossing his arms over his own chest.

She twitched. "Okay, that's not gonna work. If we're stuck with you until we figure this out, we have to set ground rules. Especially with you."

"Ground rules? What am I gonna do when I can't touch anything?"

"Well you said yourself that you just did, even temporarily, so we're gonna make it work. One, if we're gonna tolerate you, you can't go on mocking us with the whole imitating us thing… can't happen. If we tell you to leave, you leave. However, same goes for us… later, if we know we can really trust you down the road if this thing takes long. You leave us, we'll leave you. If you wanna see if you can get your full body back.." she motioned at the shelves. "Keep away from stuff that can fall. Go outside, go in the hall, go on the porch, just watch it. Last one, don't call me Alexandra. You heard Hannah call me Alex, that works. I go by the whole 'Alexandra makes me feel old' thing. Anything you can think of?"

Gabriel tilted his head, considering it. "Sunday's coming up-"

"We'll put football on for you." She replied.

"Oh, you're good." Gabriel nodded.

"No, I just had a boyfriend who did nothing but watch football."

"Hm. How was he in the sac?"

She arched an eyebrow. "You mean what I just said doesn't answer that question?"

"Touché." Gabriel returned. "Alright, you asked me a few questions, so it's my turn. Why did you wanna kill me last night and now you're okay with talking me and all that?"

"Eh, did some research, called a friend who knows a guy who knows a couple of guys who know you." She put her hand up to stop him from saying something when he looked ready to. "And who that person is will remain a mystery to you, because he likes his secrets. He doesn't want you to know he's been dishing on you. He just said you may be a dick but your intentions are good… some of them, anyway."

"Oh, I'm already convinced I know who the two guys are, Sweet Cheeks."

Alexandra pointed at him. "Ay!"

"No nicknames, either?" Gabriel sighed.

"Exactly."

"Good, 'cause Sweet Cheeks is easily considered a pet name."

"…Ugh!" Alexandra sighed, then looked at the clock. "Shit, I have work today…" She crossed her arms. "I have to call in sick."

"Aww, come on. You look like the kind of gal who wouldn't miss a day. Take me with you, I'll be a good boy."

"Ha, you in a pediatrician's office? Right. I know that's a bad idea and I've known you coming up on twelve hours."

Gabriel shrugged. "Or I could just hang around here and try to see if I can start touching things again… though it may end in disaster… I only learned how I could sit down so far."

"So you're at least getting somewhere?" Alexandra asked, heading into the kitchen, kicking the protection crystal aside so he could follow, knowing perfectly well he would. Sure enough he did, and watched her as she threw a few things in her bag. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

"Just tryin' to see if I can figure out what ya do. Don't get your panties in a bunch. Yeesh."

"Keep guessing. I'll be in the bathroom. Come in there, and I'll find a way to castrate you, ghost form or not."

Gabriel snorted.

She smirked in return. "What, you think I would put that past you? Like I said, I know your kind."

"I'm just impressed that you're taking this in strides." He replied. "Not many would."

"Hunter." She pointed at herself.

"Even hunters I know wouldn't take it so fast." He replied.

"Well, I'm just full of surprises." She replied with a wink. "Now, seriously, stay outta the bathroom… and make sure Hannah goes right out the door to school when she comes downstairs. She's been skipping classes lately. That's not good with all the stuff she's missed during attacks."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "Lemme get this straight. You don't trust me alone in the house, but you trust me to make sure your little sister goes to class?"

"Yeah. Besides, I have some control over that."

"Which is?" Gabriel replied.

"You'll find out if it comes to that." She replied. "I'll be out in a half hour. Don't break anything."

"Won't break much. Promise." Gabriel smiled.

She shot him a warning look, but headed upstairs, probably into the bathroom.

The archangel sighed and went back into the living room, heading for the couch. He went to sit down, only to fall right through. "Ugh. Really?" He got back up and stared down the couch. "Come on. You worked this time, work for me now." He muttered to it, then paused. "Heh, This one's complaining about talking to a dead guy who she thought was a demon, and I'm talking to a couch. Crazy must love this house." He paused. "Well, I guess I am here, so it's not quite crazy for her, but me… who the Hell am I talking to, anyway?" He stopped and turned around, trying to relax and concentrate at the task at hand. "Okay. Let's try this again." About three tries with sitting later, he succeeded. "Well alright. Three parts concentration, two parts annoyance, and I can sit." He tried again, once again succeeding. "Got it. Okay, next order of business." He looked at the stairs. "Hello, there."

"Umm… who are you saying 'hello' to?"

Gabriel glanced up. Anna, Lanna, Fannah, Hannah- that was it. Hannah. Her big sister only said her name minutes ago. "None of your concern, Little One-"

"I'm nineteen. I'm not little."

"Oh, you are compared to my age. Oh, and your sister wants you to stay home from class to do the food shopping.

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. I'm going to work with her-"

"Wait, she's letting you go to a pedia-"

"Moving on." Gabriel cut the girl off. "and she said it may be a long day, so she gave you the errands. Lucky you, that's just it."

"Hm." Hannah nodded. "Whatever. Does she have a list?"

"… Like I would know?" Gabriel asked.

Hannah went into the kitchen, came out with a list, then nodded. "Okay. Cool. Later, Angel." She headed out the door, ignoring him correct her, calling "arch" after her.

Gabriel watched her drive away, then smirked. Just because he was half dead (again, not to mention more than usual), didn't mean he couldn't mess around like he always had. He turned his attention back to the steps, and when he fell through the third step the fifth time, he gave up. He'd leave those for later. He returned to the couch, repeating his process, and managed to sit successfully. His confident smirk was still on his face when Alexandra came down. "Oooh, Big Sister cleans up nice."

"You hush, Romeo."

"I thought you said no nicknames." Gabriel replied.

"Yeah, that's before you called me Big Sister."

"But that's not a nickname when it's your position in a family."

"Uh huh. Come on." She grabbed her bag from the kitchen counter.

"Okay, but it's gonna end up being your loss." Gabriel replied.

"I'm done listening to you. Let's go. Hannah went off, right?"

"Yep." Gabriel nodded, following her out the door, then to the car. He stared at the door for a few moments, suddenly missing his ability to open doors. He shrugged. Then again, walking through was just fine. He walked right in, then settled himself in.

Alexandra watched him squirm, but manage to get settled. "You good?"

"Hopefully."

She backed up the car and started on her way.

"So… I gotta ask…" Gabriel began after a few minutes of silence. "Why are you so quick to trust me? All of my old… buddies woulda kicked me out right off the bat. Hell, I wouldn't be in a car with them…" He paused. "But there was that time…" He shook his head. "Nevermind."

"O…kay. Haven't we been over this a couple of times? I trust my connections who know you. Plus if you were a demon would've attacked by now… especially now, but clearly, you're not, so- SHIT!" She slammed on the car's brakes when something darted out from the side of the road. She failed to notice Gabriel go flying out of the car. "What the HELL was that? Is that one of your pranks?" She turned to him, or at least, where he would've been. "Gabriel?"

She looked around, then frowned when he literally came up from the pavement. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Are you okay? I'm sorry!"

"No you're not." Gabriel called back. "That would've been very painful."

"Are. You. Okay?"

"I'm fine because I can't feel a damn thing and go through every solid object unless there's extreme concentration." He got back in the car. "Okay. Just… try to take it easy."

"That's what I was doing then that… thing just bolted across."

"It was a kid." Gabriel replied.

"What?"

"A kid." Gabriel repeated. "Little blonde monster."

"How did you know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was it you who just got launched out the windshield? No. I think I'd recognize a kid when I missed her by inches."

"…Sorry." She sighed.

"Uh huh." Gabriel turned his head when the driver in the car behind them honked their horn. "Ah, shut up." He turned back as she started driving again. "So… are we there yet?"

"Don't you even start! I can't even let go of the steering wheel right now." She replied, panting as she did so.

" … … … are we there yet?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Alexandra pulled into the parking lot of the doctor's office she worked in. "Okay, new ground rules for work…" She began, as he followed, not hesitating to start making faces at her. "You have questions, just ask yes or no questions so I can nod, unless we're alone."

"Ooh, kinky."

Alexandra stopped in her tracks and let out a sharp exhale. "I knew I was gonna regret this. I just knew it."

"Hey, you brought me."

"Shut up."

* * *

Once they got inside, Alexandra's coworker Jane hurried over to her. "There you are! Usually you're early! What happened? You're ten minutes late!"

"Ten minutes. Crap. Is James-"

"He's worried about you more than annoyed you're late. Seriously, tell me."

"Some kid ran in front of my car. Got a little shaken."

"Oh My God! Are you okay?" Jane stepped closer to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alexandra nodded.

"Are you sure? Jimmy will let you go home."

"Really, Janie. I'm good. Let me get to work with filing and I'll be good as new in no time." She assured her friend.

Gabriel looked between them. "Aw, you're just a desk attendant? I thought you'd be a surgeon or something after you basically telling me to screw off."

She shot him a warning look, and he just shrugged it off. "I'm gonna go explore- keep myself occupied." Another warning shot followed.

"Oh, relax. I've played doctor before. I'll be fine." He waved his hand, then turned and walked down one of the hallways.

"No, Gabriel!" Alexandra hissed. She went to grab him, but at the last minute remembered that wouldn't go far.

"What?" Jane lifted her head.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Alexandra shook her head.

"Who's Gabriel?"

"Gabriel?" He's the angel and probably soon to be the bane of my existence. "Where'd you get that name?"

"You just said it…" Jane blinked.

"No I didn't…" Alexandra replied.

Jane stared at her, then raised her eyebrows. "Must be hearing things. Alright, have fun." She turned back to her own work, leaving Alexandra to start sorting through them. The woman ended up jamming files into where they belonged, being that the angel was nowhere to be seen in the minutes following the first fiasco. _I'm gonna bring him back just to kill the guy. Damn him. He's just asking for it. _She frowned when the lights flickered again. "Wha… huh?" they stopped flickering for a moment, then continued. "If he's behind this…" She muttered, then sighed. Now you're getting ahead of yourself. He can't touch anything, you saw him. For all you know, he was lying and those books fell, anyway. Her thoughts stopped once again when the lights went out completely. A moment later, one of the doctors, Gretchen Haynes, started calling for help. "Now that can't be good." She set the other files down and turned to page a couple of the nurses when Gretschen's call for help turned into a right out scream. Her hunter side kicked in once again and she bolted down the hallway the scream had come from. She skidded to a halt when she saw Gretschen in one of the rooms. "Hey, Doc, what's…?" She looked further into the room, to see a mangled, bloody body. "…The matter…" She barely managed to get out. She clapped her hand over her mouth and stared, then looked at the door when there were several footsteps heard coming in. "Somebody call the police and an ambulance… now!" She ordered.

A couple of people the gathered crowd dispersed, and Alexandra frowned when she saw Gabriel pop up where those two had been, then squeezed his way into the room. "So… I'm guessing this doesn't happen here often."

* * *

**A/N: The Winchesters will make their first appearance in the next chap. Now, go click that button and tel me what you thought of this chap. I know Gabriel was a fair bit OOC. I'm working into it, I promise. **


	3. Burned Me to the Floor

**A/N: Ah, typical fan fiction. Some of the formatting for the last chapter got screwed up. I'm going to fix that shortly… and auto correct on my processor butchered the name Gretchen. Anyway, moving on. Hope you enjoy. Oh, and my friend made a vidlet for this fic. It's just a minute long thing for Gabe and Alex. If you wanna check it out, it's on my profile.  
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* * *

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_"So I'm guessing that doesn't happen a lot around here."_**  
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Alexandra shot Gabriel his fifteenth warning look of the day. then looked at Gretchen. "Hey, Gretch, get out of here, will you? The cops will probably want the room cleared, huh?" He reached for her friend, who got up slowly. Alexandra led the woman out of the room, and after he got a better look at the mangled body, Gabriel followed. He waited for her to sit Gretchen down, then returned to her side. "You know perfectly well that the attack came from someone on… … … my side of the universal divide, right?"

"Uh huh." Alexandra deadpanned. "Now where the Hell is he…?"

"Where's who?" Gabriel asked.

Alexandra ignored him, then looked around, seeing a familiar face across the hall, coming towards her. Doctor James Howell was coming towards her, looking completely confused, a rarity for him. "Jim!" She shot up in her chair so fast the archangel beside her sidestepped quickly out of instinct. "Your loverboy?"

"No, idiot." She replied before running over to James.

James met her halfway. "Lexi, what's going on?"

"One of us got attacked. We're not sure who. It's that bad." She replied.

James' face filled with concern. "Really? What happened? How is that even possible here? Did one of the teens hear something they didn't want to hear and grab one of our tools or something?"

Gabriel gagged behind them. That was an overdramatic guess, even for his taste.

Alexandra looked around, then grabbed James' arm and tugged him over to the joining hallway that was relatively empty compared to the other two linking to the room with the… corpse. Gabriel pivoted and strolled over them to see what she was getting at. "I don't mean a human attack, Jim. I mean attack from…" She motioned from herself to him. "Our other line of work."

Gabriel snorted. "You mean this guy..._Doctor Dashing_ over here is a hunter, too?" He laughed. "And I was surprised with the Chuckleheads being hunters!"

Alexandra flipped him off behind her back, then nodded at James when he stared at her, wide eyed. "Yeah. It's bad. The person in there was burned, skinned and ripped apart. That would take hours to do. This happened, in like, two minutes, if that."

James looked back at the hallway. "I'm gonna go see for myself."

Alexandra nodded, then crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on the wall. She glanced up when there was an announcement about moving patients that were doing overnight treatments to vans to be transported to the hospital a few minutes away. "Damn."

Gabriel, on the other hand, was focused on something else involving the newcomer. "… That guy wants you. Just saying."

Alexandra jabbed her elbow into his side. If she couldn't make contact, symbolizing it would just have to do. Gabriel merely glanced down at her, then looked away, uninterested. He frowned, seeing a girl on a gurney. He frowned. Something about her got to him suddenly. He glanced at Alexandra again. Upon seeing that she was looking away, preparing another lecture for him, he headed after the gurney.

"Would you leave him alone? He's a good guy. You're probably just jealous you never got so many smiles from the ladies that he does." Alexandra told him, or at least, thought she did. She didn't hear any gutteral reply, so she glanced at where he should've been, finding the spot vacant. "…Gabriel?" She looked around, then spotted his blonde hair and tan jacket, retreating towards the exit. "Damn it. Gabriel!" She called, hurrying after him.

It was at that moment that James decided to return. "Lexi?" He looked around, then saw her running down the hallway for what looked like no apparent reason. "… Hm."

Moments later, Alexandra found herself slipping, not having seen the wet floor sign in one of the corners to the other hall by the exit. She ended up falling through Gabriel, who had also stopped short. At the last moment, she caught herself. After a moment, she steadied herself on the wall. "What was that about?"

"That was the kid…" Gabriel replied.

"What kid?"

"The kid that you nearly hit when we were in the car." Gabriel replied. "Why is she here and not the hospital if something happened… in the last few minutes?"

"Beats me." Alexandra replied. "Maybe it looks just the girl."

"It was her, Sweetheart. Angels don't just… see things." Gabriel replied.

Alexandra shrugged. "Who knows."

"Hey, Lex, who're you talking to?"

Alexandra turned around when she saw James standing behind her. "Oh, a uh... nurse just had a question about that patient getting out."

"Oh? She looks like what girl? Another patient?"James asked.

"…Yeah." Alexandra nodded. "So, what do you think about… that?" She motioned at the room.

James shrugged. "Demon attack."

"No shit!" Gabriel finally snapped out of his trance involving the little girl and looked at James.

"Don't know what kind of demon it is, but it's definitely a demon." James nodded.

If Gabriel ever willed himself to cry for the part of the human race that knew about the supernatural world, as well as its general intelligence, it might've been then.

Alexandra sighed. "I'll go put in for two personal days."

"Cancel my appointments too, will you?"

"Uh, at the rate patients are being moved outta here and people are leaving, that's a gimme, hon." She replied. "Maybe we can call a few favors and see_ if anyone has any guesses on who or what's behind this._"

She glanced quickly at Gabriel, indicating the last bit was to him.

He shrugged. "I'm not a hunter. I'm an angel. Totally different. I have no idea. I have a couple of connections that I mentioned earlier, but for one, they don't trust me, and second, they can't see me, so it's impossible either- " He saw two people coming towards them and froze. "You're yankin' my chain…"

Alexandra used the moment James had hurried off to talk to another nurse to her advantage. "What about yanking your chain?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Speak of the Devil, and his vessel and his brother shall appear."

"…What?" She turned

She looked at the crowd again, then saw two men clad in suits coming into the area. "Oh, no. How are cops here so fast?"

"Heh. Cops. Right." Gabriel chuckled.

Alexandra raised an eyebrow at him, then advanced on the two newcomers. "Can I help you two gentleman?"

The taller, thinner one looked at the shorter one with the kinder face. "Uh, yes. My name's Agent Hendrix and this is Agent Lebowski from the FBI… we just got called down for a… murder with… strange circumstances."

Alexandra narrowed her eyes. Something didn't sit right with these two. There was no way that FBI agents could get to this place so fast after barely anyone had left, they were far too… pretty to be FBI agents, and then there were their names- _Hendrix and Lebowski? Really?_ "Oh?" She crossed her arms, waiting for them to continue.

Agent Hendrix blinked, then shook his head. "Right. Uh, what happened here? I heard you were the second person to discover the body. Can you describe what you saw?"God, his voice pissed her off right off the bat.

Alexandra tried hard not to jump when Gabriel came up behind her and told her to come up with some crazy story to tell them. "Uh, I'm sorry, can I see your badges, please?"

Hendrix was the only one to speak again. He laughed nervously. "Sorry about that." The two of them flashed the badges for a couple of moments, then returned them to their belts. That was another thing Alexandra didn't like. However, she went along with them anyway. If Gabriel was telling her to make up some crazy story, he obviously knew them and wanted to screw with them. Did that mean they were hunters, angels or demons? Wait. He said something about hunters, then speak of the… whatever the whole vessel thing was supposed to mean. He did know them. She paused. She barely knew the archangel, but did he seem like the type to screw with her that would lead to her being in danger? No… or at least she didn't think so. "I uh… I don't even know what to say. I just came in when Gretchen screamed, and the body was just there… I told a couple of people to call the cops and an ambulance… I don't know why an ambulance, I mean, the person was definitely gone already… I told Gretchen to leave, then got the Hell out of there… that was coming up on…" She checked the clock. " 'Round an hour ago."

Now it was Lebowski's turn to speak. "Right. Can you point out Gretchen for us, please?"

Alexandra hesitated, then pointed at the nurse. She suddenly felt like she had sold the girl's soul.

"Thank you. Hang around, though. We might need to get back to you."

Another snort from Gabriel followed.

"Sure." Alexandra nodded, then watched them leave.

Within another hour, the office was closed for more police and the 'agents' to investigate. The ride home was quiet, and now that Alexandra knew Gabriel a little more, she knew that must've meant something was up. "Say something already. You're worrying me."

Gabriel chuckled, but said nothing.

Alexandra eased off the gas and looked at him "What?"

"Seriously, nothing."

"Liar." Alexandra replied.

"Fine. I thought all you hunters knew each other." He shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You honestly didn't recognize those two?" Gabriel arched an eyebrow.

"Should I have?"

Gabriel laughed once again. "Hell yeah! That was Sam and Dean Winchester!"

Alexandra slammed on the brakes the second time that day, and with intense concentration, Gabriel managed to just lurch off the seat slightly and not go flying out of the car. "WHAT?"She yelled.

"Sam and Dean Winchester." Gabriel replied. "If they're here, you guys are in trouble. Big trouble."

Alexandra stared at the empty road in front of her and turned to see if anyone was coming behind her, then turned the car again, heading back towards the office. "I knew those two were too pretty to be agents."

"Are you kidding? They're too pretty to be anything!" Gabriel waved his arms.

Alexandra rolled her eyes, then continued on to the office. She got out and Gabriel followed. The two weaved their way through the crowd, looking for the two brothers. When Alexandra couldn't find them, she settled for talking to James when she saw him. "Hey, Jim!"

James blinked at her. "Oh, I thought you went home."

She laughed. "I could say the same to you."

James winked at her, then motioned at the office. "Investigating time?"

"Oh, can this guy get cheesier?" Gabriel groaned.

Alexandra hid her jaw, clenching in irratation by scratching her chin. "Investigating time." She agreed. "By the way, did you see those two FBI agents here a couple of hours ago?"

"… FBI agents?" James blinked. "No, not at all."

"Huh. Okay. Well, let's get in there." Alexandra nodded, the wheels in her head starting to turn a little more now.

"After you." James nodded.

Gabriel stepped forward. "Wait, Alex, let me go in and check it out. I'm already half dead, or… three fourths dead, or whatever I am right now. No need in you or your boyfriend getting ambushed or something and killed."

Alexandra stopped in mid step, then nodded subtly.

Gabriel returned the nod and started to head into the building when he saw something orange spark through the window. "Ah, no…"

"Wha-"Alexandra began. Her answer basically showed itself as she went flying backwards after the front windows shattered and pillars of fire came bursting through for a couple of seconds, then it died down, but the place was on fire.

Gabriel, who was surprised at the fact that he got knocked back by the blast along with the other two, got up. "Alex?" He called, just as James did the same

Alexandra got up slowly. "I'm good…"

James helped her to her feet and looked her over, just as Gabriel had.

Alexandra nodded. "Okay, though that seemed more like a human criminal finishing up his work, that seemed demonic, too. Let's get the Hell out of here before something else goes wrong." She turned and froze, realizing she was now staring down the barrell of a gun. She glanced up. It wasn't the agents- damn it, the Winchesters, but the one holding a gun to her head, as well as the one holding one to James' head, did in fact look like cops. They must've still been around checking out the murder scene.

"Who the Hell are you people?" Alexandra's cop demanded.

"I'm a doctor here, she's a receptionist here. We wanted to come back to see how long this investigation would take. Where are the investigators?" James blurted out quickly, his eyes not leaving the gun.

"They were inside… and a doctor and a receptionist who were here for the first murder, just happening to come back when we found a second body? I don't think so."

"Second- what?" Alexandra demanded, then yelped when her cop turned her around, cuffed her, and headed to a squad car she was pretty convinced wasn't there five minutes ago. "What the HELL?" Maybe she was wrong about those cops. Usually cops wouldn't cart two people away so fast… would they? She looked around for Gabriel and relaxed when she saw him to her right, trying to keep up with the police officer's strides. As if reading her mind, he sent her an 'I have no idea' look. She let out another yelp when the cop tossed her in the back of the squad car, followed by James. Gabriel got in and went between them. Alexandra looked at him, making sure to seem like she was looking out the window. She wanted to interrogate the Hell out of him about their predicament, and by the look on his face, she knew that he knew. She managed to let panic get a small part in the back of her mind, all the while trying to figure out how she could get out of this one… without telling Hannah, who would never let her live it down.

The cops had carted the two to the police station, conveniently in the middle of the woods in the town. They separated Alexandra and James, then threw into a cell and made them stay overnight, What worried her was that they didn't allow either of them to have a phone call. Something was definitely wrong. Alexandra started pacing after, trying to ignore Gabriel's humming. "This is crazy. Why are we here? They can't hold us like this just under suspicion!"

"Apparently they can since they are right now." Gabriel replied.

"No, they're holding me here. You can scram." Aexlandra replied.

Gabriel snorted. "Hey, look. You may not like me and I may be iffy about you too, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna go and leave you here. I don't like what's going on, either. If you're gonna help get me back to… normal, or life, or whatever you wanna call… whole, I guess, then I'm staying to keep an eye on your ass!"

Alexandra sighed. "Thanks, then… I think."

"Yeah huh." Gabriel nodded.

The two sat in silence for a bit, then one of the cops came over to her cell, looking quite confused. "Hey, you. Someone's here to see y-" He suddenly stopped talking and gasped, going wide eyed. Alexandra let out a yelp when she saw a point jut out of his stomach suddenly. "What the HELL?" She jumped up, then backed up once again when the cop suddenly turned into black smoke, then the rose quickly, leaving a dead body of the real cop behind. Alexandra just stared as the arm holding the stake that the point belonged to withdrew, then 'Agent Hendrix' stepped out from behind the wall.

Gabriel, who also looked confused as Hell, perked up. "Deano!" He beamed.

Hendrix, or as Gabriel had just said, Dean Winchester, smirked at Alexandra. "Receptionist, my ass, by the way. Stand back."

Alexandra did as she was told, raising an eyebrow all the same."FBI agents my ass." She returned.

Dean offered an appreciative smile, then pulled out a gun from the waistband of his jeans and shot the lock that was on it. He pushed the chain off the bars and opened the door. "Come on, quick. Start talkin'- and I don't mean like 'Oh, I dunno what just happened with these strange men', I mean like 'This shit happens to me everyday but this is weirder than usual' talkin'."

Alexandra advanced on him. "The way you just said that... You a hunter?"

Hendrix looked impressed for a second. "Yeah. I take you are, too, since we had a friend look at a couple of pictures and he said you looked familiar."

She nodded. "Alex Hennessey."

Dean nodded back. "Dean-"

"Winchester. I know. You guys are legends."

Dean beamed. "Well, well. I like you already. You'll meet the other half of the magic shortly. Sam's getting your friend." He turned the stake he had in his free hand and handed her the thicker end. "Here, just in case there are more of those demon bastards around."

Alexandra nodded and took it. "So how'd you guys know that this was demonic?" She asked, following him out of the cell, with Gabriel in tow once again.

"Eh, a few odds and ends that were freaky around here. We wanted to see if this was something or nothing." He replied, then grinned back at her. "Aren't you glad we checked?"

"Gimme a break…" Gabriel rolled his eyes."He hasn't changed much."

Alexandra ignored him. "Hell, yes."

Dean turned another corner, then headed out the front. "This place was pretty well covered by demons. Other than the hospital, any weird, big stuff go down lately?"

"Not that I know of. It just got crazy today."

Dean looked down, processing the information, then brought his gun up when he heard footsteps. When Sam and James came out of the shadows, Dean put the gun down. "Sam, meet Alex. Alex, this is Sam."

The two nodded at each other, then James introduced himself to Dean.

Dean glanced out the front windows, then satisfied no one was in sight, he opened the door. "Good, now that we all know each other…" He turned to the others. "Let's see what the Hell's going on here."


	4. Come Knock on My Door

**A/N: Alrighty, being that someone asked, I might as well say it here. This fic is AU in the sense that Sam has his soul, either he never lost it or he got it back somehow. I don't own SPN, blah blah blah. Enjoy, and review!**

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"Best coffee in town, I assure you. Come on." Alexandra held open the door to the town's diner. After some talking, she and the brothers had sorted out that they were all trustworthy. A phone call later to Hannah, telling that she was okay, and a trip to James' home to drop him off later, the three, well, four, counting the archangel, were off to talk about what had happened. and what had happened in the past that might have been connected to it. Shortly after, Dean's stomach started growling, and Alexandra just grinned and led them to the place they wrere in front of now.

Dean looked at the old diner. Probably made in the fifties- looked like all the typical fifties ripoff diners, but at the same time, it looked genuine. "Looks like the only coffee place in town."

"Well, that too." She replied.

"This place have pie?" Dean asked.

Alexandra smiled. "The best in town, once again… well, best in this town and the next couple over." She replied.

"The other towns that say that proudly accept the challenge!" Dean pointed at her, going inside.

Alexandra looked at Sam, who smiled and shrugged, then held the door open for her. She thanked him, then waved at the diner's manager. "Hey, Rick!"

Rick Simon waved back. "Hey, Alex. Who are these two strapping gentleman?"

Alexandra pointed at Dean. "My old dorm neighbor from college, George…" She pointed at Sam " and his little cousin, Dave."

Rick nodded at them. "Nice to meet ya. Taking good care of my favorite customer?"

"Oh, loads." Dean nodded.

Gabriel chuckled. "Sure, _loads_ if it's almost a guarantee that she's gonna get killed."

Alexandra stepped back and then though the archangel's foot.

"That's what I like to hear. You want your usual, Alex?" Rick asked

Gabriel spoke up before she could answer him. "I'm just sayin' watch your ass now that the Muttonheads are involved. I can't do it all the time." He tilted his head and checked her out, knowing full well she was aware of it. "Though I wish I could…."

"Ugh." Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable."

Rick tilted his head. "What was that, Lex?"

"Oh, nothing, Rick. Uh, usual. Yeah." She turned to the Winchesters. "You want anything?"

Dean blinked. "Uh, you guys have a menu?"

Rick nodded. "Sure do. It's already on Alex's usual table. Whatever you want, it's on the house."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Wow, really?"

Rick nodded. "Least I can do for some of Alex's friends who finally decide to visit."

"Wow, thanks." Sam and Dean beamed.

Gabriel leaned towards Alexandra. "Your buddy Rick there makes it sound like you're lacking in that friend category."

Alexandra clenched her jaw, then went over to her usual table, as Rick had said. She slid into the far window seat and Gabriel slid in next to her, and the brothers sat across from them. Dean looked around, then. Satisfied no one was within earshot if he talked low, he leaned forward. "So… you're certain that nothing else fishy has gone on? What about your friend James? He mention anything?" He asked, starting to flip through the menu, scanning for the dessert section.

"Not at all, not that I can remember, at least." Alexandra started twiddling her thumbs, staring down at them. She could feel the 'bitch, please' look that Dean was giving her. "Well, nothing lately, at least. Sure, there have been demons hiding out here, but they were easy kills."

Dean's face softened slightly, then glanced back at the menu, deciding on apple pie, keeping to the classics. Rick came back around, and the three made their orders. A side look at Gabriel, who was staring at the display shelves holding various desserts made Alexandra figure that he missed eating… or just dessert. She wondered if he even got hungry in the state he was in. The minutes spent waiting for their orders to come out went by in silence- a comfortable one, but a silence all the same. A waitress gave Sam his water and ham sandwich, Dean got his apple pie, and Alexandra got a black coffee.

Upon seeing the woman's 'usual', Dean was impressed. She didn't seem like the black coffee type. She was definitely okay, as far as he was concerned. Any girl who could take coffee straight up was a winner in his eyes. Well, the thought didn't last long, because a moment later, she was dumping a good portion of the sugar packets into it. Sam twitched, Dean smirked ,amused, and Gabriel, even with the sweet tooth he had, stopped and amazement.

"Holy shit."

Alexandra glanced at the men around her. Sam looked too stunned to say anything, and she wasn't quite sure who exactly had said the comment, mostly because it sounded like both had said it. "What? It's a habit from my teenage years I haven't quite kicked."

Dean paused, then burst out laughing.

Despite herself, Alexandra joined in the laughter. "What?" She repeated.

Dean shook his head and the laughter died out slowly. "Nothin'. You just reminded me of… someone, with that."

"Oh? Who? Anyone I might know?"

"Try someone who's sitting right next to you." Gabriel chimed in.

Dean shrugged. "Well, being that you might've been… almost everywhere we've been, an angel. Archangel, actually. Gabriel."

"Toldja." Gabriel beamed.

Alexandra pulled her best surprised expression. No sense in telling the boys that said archangel was with them, just… invisible to their eyes. "Gabriel? Really?" She forced a chuckle, but it turned genuine when she had an idea. It was time to get the angel back for being a tool so far. If she had trouble dealing with him so far, the brothers would have too, probably. "What was he like?"

Dean shrugged. "No sense holding anything back. He was a dick."

Gabriel shot Alexandra a glare. "You had to do it, didn't you?" The ghost of a smile that crossed her lips at Dean's comment and the angel's reaction was answer enough. "Oh, you're horrible. Maybe that's why you can see me and not just the kid- we're alike. That's something I'd pull… not to mention we have a hell of a sweet tooth in common. I'll be back when I see Rebel With a Cause over here stop talking." He slid out of the booth and sauntered over to another set of patrons, probably to eavesdrop.

Dean, oblivious to the other things going on around him, hadn't stopped complaining. "He never knew when to shut up. God, I wanted to punch him in the face. Hell, I felt bad when he died, practically for us, but… kinda hard to feel for a guy who tried to kill you several times."

Alexandra, who had been grinning at the rant, processed the last bit and her head shot up. "WHAT?" She glanced up at Gabriel, who was looking back at her with an eyebrow raised. She looked back at the brothers, who looked stunned at the way she reacted. "Sorry. Just… an angel… tried to kill you? Really?"

Their puzzled looks faded. "Yeah, long story. It's a whole we-were-the-vessels-meant-for-Lucifer-and-Michael thing." Dean replied.

"…Lucifer?" Alexandra gaped.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we know. It's a lot to process. Gabriel was… mostly just doing his job, trying to get us to do it, but… it was still annoying... anyway!" He looked down at his pie. "Let's see of this even get an honorable mention!

"Okay, story time's over." Gabriel slid into the booth again, and Alexandra tried very hard not to turn and stare at him. "Your buddy's on his way back over anyway." Gabriel continued.

Sure enough, Rick came up to the table, and leaned over the back of Gabriel and Alexandra's seat. The woman had to hold back a laugh at Gabriel's facial expression when Rick quite literally leaned through him, so Gabriel's head was sticking out of Rick's shoulder. "Anything else for you three?"

Alexandra looked at the brothers, who shook their heads in turn. "No, thanks, Rick. Here." She fished into her bag, getting her wallet. She pulled out a ten and pushed into his hand before he could object. When he started to, she put her hand up. "Come on, just let me give you something for once. Keep this place floating, even if it doesn't need help."

Rick leaned over more in order to kiss the side of her head, and Gabriel attempted to slide down the bench more. The attempt ended with him falling through it. He came back up and returned to his original spot, being that Rick had left again.

Feeling that another silence was on its way, Dean spoke up. "So, let's see if this pie should even get an honorable mention, huh?"

* * *

To Sam's surprise, Dean was pleasantly surprised and offered the pie second place for all of the diners they had been to in the East. After more small talk, that Alexandra was barely paying attention to after the whole Gabriel-tried-to-kill-them thing was brought up, the three decided it was time to leave. They traded contact information, then went their own way. Once Alexandra saw the Winchester's Impala pass them and drive out of sight, she turned to Gabriel. The archangel had sensed that he was going to get a verbal lashing, so he had stayed back. So much for that.

"You tried to KILL them?"

"Yes… well, no…. well, yes… to be fair, it was really just Dean." He shrugged. No sense in telling her all of the other cases that he pulled.

"You mean I'm currently housing a guy who attempted murder?" She replied.

Gabriel blinked innocently. "I wouldn't have tried if I didn't have to."

Alexandra let out a disbelieving half yelp, half laugh, then turned and headed up the street.

Gabriel scoffed and looked up, tossing his hands in the air for good measure. "Hey, it's not like I really succeeded in the end. I mean, I did, but they're back now, so it shouldn't matter!" He looked back to his side, to find the spot vacant. "…Alex?" He looked ahead and found her stalking off a few feet ahead. He could almost see the cartoon thunderstorm cloud above her head. "Aa-lex! Come on!"

Four near misses with cars at various intersections later, Gabriel was still in the proverbial doghouse. He stopped briefly, wondering why the Hell he was even dodging the cars. He could just walk on through,, but whatever. If he was going to get back to normal soon, or at least someday, there was no sense in changing policies on when to move or not. The two made it back to the house, and Gabriel found the door slammed in his face. He sighed and walked through it. "It's not like I'm gonna try and kill you two. Why would I when you're helping me out?"

"Who's gonna try killing who?"

Gabriel glanced over, seeing Hannah standing in front of the couch, looking both curious and worried.

"No one. Where's your sister?"

"Right here." Alexandra came back into the living room. "Start talking. Now."

"…I just explained myself for half of the walk home!" Gabriel laughed.

"I don't mean the whole attempting to kill Dean and the other Winchester ordeal-"

"Wait, Dean Winchester as in… the Dean Winchester?" Hannah asked.

"I mean before you met the boys. I mean, back in your Trickster days."

"You want the 1800s, 1900s or 2000s?" Gabriel asked sarcasticallu

"Surprise me." Alexandra shot back with the same sarcasm.

"2000s it is. I'm not that bad of a guy. Never was. I was the real world's Dexter. Tricked bad people in very fitting ways."

"And hurt them in the process? Tried to kill them? Any successes?"

"Several, but being that it's not my job anymore, I wouldn't worry about it." Gabriel scowled.

"How many?" Alexandra demanded.

"Are you kidding…?"

"How… many?"

"… Low fifties?" Gabriel flinched, waiting for the fireworks.

"WHAT?"

"Again, they deserved what they got. I didn't hurt random people. You guys are good people, so you're fine. You're safe. What can I do to you, anyway?" He swatted his hand through the supporting beam. "Still like this, and I'm not lying… for once." He sighed, looking at her unconvinced look. "Bring all the weapons to your room, put crystals up and salt me into this room if you want. Seriously, I won't hurt ya."

Hannah finally spoke up. "Can one of you tell me what the Hell I missed when you two got yourselves thrown into prison and the rest of today?"

"Your sister and her boyfriend got thrown in prison. I just followed to watch out for her." Gabriel replied.

"So what happened? I heard Winchester. Did you meet them? Did they help you?" She paused. "Are they the ones who arrested you?"

Gabriel twitched, then looked at Alexandra. "… Is she really a hunter?"

Alexandra sighed, then nodded. "Hannah, you come up with me, Gabriel, you have free reign of this floor."

"Oh, so now you trust me again." Gabriel smirked.

Alexandra pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know, you made the point yesterday if you were really against us, you would've tried something already. However, one more ground rule, since the nickname one clearly went to Hell. Anyway, regardless of what this turns into, even having to do with this whole thing now."

"Fire away." Gabriel tilted his head.

"If one of us tell you to get out and not come back, you do so, no matter what. No questions asked, no nothing. You wanna continue to be an asshole, or just plain sell us out, you're on your own." She crossed her arms. "Deal?"

"Deal." Gabriel nodded. "Now, tell Little Miss Clueless what crap we've been through the past twenty four hours."

The next morning, Alexandra woke up from the sound of the doorbell. She turned around, glancing at the clock. She narrowed her eyes. No one ever came knocking at eight in the morning since her old neighbor, Joe Russo. The old man had always come in the early hours to bring the girls cookies that his wife made. Unfortunately, Joe had passed away three years prior. So who was this? She rolled her eyes at the idea that it could be Joe's ghost, being that she and Hannah were seeing Gabriel's. She pushed the thought back, then groaned when the doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She slid out of bed and felt around on the ground for the pair of jeans she had worn the previous day. She half walked, half stumbled down the stairs, heading for the door.

"It's Dumb and Moderately Intellegent!" Gabriel called from the adjacent room.

"Geez, why are you up already?" Alexandra called.

Gabriel strolled into the room and smirked. "Couldn't sleep. All the typical human and angel needs are turned off when I'm like this. It's kinda cool."

The doorbell rang a second time, and Alexandra pulled it open, waking up right away when she saw the Winchesters were on the other side. "Hi…"

Dean smirked and nodded once. "Hi. Sorry we're here so early. We uh… just though you'd wanna know… they found another body… it was at the hospital this time."

Alexandra blinked. "Are you kidding me?"

Dean shook his head. "Wish I was. We figured you'd wanna come check it out with us before the cops get there… the real cops."

Alexandra arched an eyebrow. "Before they get there? When did you find the body?"

Dean glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes ago, tops?"

Alexandra reached over and grabbed her jacket. "Let's go." She shot Gabriel a look, glanced upstairs, then back at him. Gabriel got the hint that she meant same instructions about her sister as yesterday. He mock saluted, and she headed out the door. She slid into the backseat and once she got settled, turned to the side, nearly yelping when she saw Gabriel on the other side. "What the Hell? Go back inside!"

"And let these two knuckleheads have all the fun? Nah. Your sister'll be fine."

"You say that now…" She muttered.

Sam, who was in the co-passenger seat, turned around. "You say something…. Sorry, Alex, right?"

"Alex, yes, and no, I didn't say anything." She waited for Sam to turn around before punching through Gabriel's again. The bastard had the nerve to beam. He was enjoying making her look like a nutcase. They reached the hospital, and unfortunately, cops had already made it to the building. With some difficulty, Dean and Sam pulled the same Agent Hendrix and Lebowski act, and managed to convince the cop that this was field training for Alex, who wasn't a full agent yet. Alexandra led the way a few times, managing to dodge a few familiar faces. They made it to the room where the body had been found, and like the other two they had seen, or at least one they had seen and the other they heard of, it was skinned, burned, and God knows what else. The brothers started trading theories, and Gabriel shot down for each one. After the fifth, Alexandra wondered if he truly had any real objections to the theories. She relayed as many of the arguments that she thought seemed reasonable. When Alexandra got up to investigate an odd shadow by the windo, blocked by a dividing curtain, she wasn't surprised to find a sigil behind it, drawn out in chalk. "Oh, boys." She called, pointing to it.

Dean looked at Sam, then jerked his head in the sigil's direction. "That's your area of expertise, isn't it?"

Sam raised his eyebrows and swapped positions with Alexandra, taking a look at it. "Well, it's nothing familiar. I'd say take a picture and come back at this rate."

"What if the cleanup crew gets rid of it?" Dean asked.

Sam opened his mouth to reply, then frowned as he saw something behind them.

Dean turned and Alexandra followed suit. She blinked expectantly, seeing a man standing in the doorway. His brown hair was touseled, his trench coat and tie looked like they had been dragged through the mud one too many times, and his blue eyes were fixed on her. "Uhh…" She began. "Hi?"

Dean chuckled. "It's okay, Cas. She's with us. Where have you been, anyway?"

The man, Cas, didn't looked convinced.

Dean huffed. "Seriously, she's good. We checked her out. She's part of a hunting family from here. We saw her when the first body showed up. What's up? The guys upstairs sayin' there's something going down here?"

"Something like that." Cas replied,

Alexandra offered a smile, mostly just to try and get that look off his face. "I'm Alex."

Cas kept staring.

Dean closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry… about…. Him. I… I don't even know what to say. That's Castiel… he's an angel, too. Nothing like Gabriel, I assure you." He offered the last bit with a smile, and she returned it, even briefly.

Alexandra paused. Wait, why wasn't Gabriel complaining? As a matter of fact, he had gotten very quiet with the newcomer. She hesitated. Well, they were both angels, weren't they? Could he just be having flashbacks or something?" She turned, looking for the archangel. He ended up being in the corner. She narrowed her eyes as if asking what was going on when she realized he looked flat out stunned and uncertain. He glanced at her for a brief moment before looking at the other man. She looked back at Castiel, and saw his eyes flicker back to her again. Wait, back to her? She thought he was looking at her, but now it seemed like he was looking at Gabriel… and then it hit her.

This guy could see Gabriel.

Neither of the angels looked too thrilled about that.

Well, _shit. _


	5. Harder to Breathe

**A/N: I don't own Supernatural, blah blah, I don't own Inception, either. Go get yourself a cookie if you catch the reference.**

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* * *

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Gabriel finally stopped gaping, surprised as Alexandra was. "Bro, just… pretend I'm not here… please. My… friend and I can explain everything after this. Just… don't give us away. We're still getting used to this ourselves."

Castiel's frown deepened, but glanced away from Gabriel all the same.

Dean, oblivious to the other goings-on in the room, blinked. "… Cas, you're scaring the newbie. We've told you time and time again, it's rude to stare. Now, what's up?"

Castiel turned his attention back to Dean. "Whatever's coming… he's big, and he's powerful. You have a lot to find out if you plan to take him down."

Sam blinked. "Can you be more specific?"

"I'm afraid no, I can't. It's still a raging battle up there, and I can't stay for long." Castiel replied. "Just… be prepared for anything." He sensed Dean was about to object, so with one final look at Gabriel, the angel disappeared.

After a moment of gaping, Alexandra finally snapped out of her shock, then started coming up with possible excuses. She and Gabriel needed to talk. Preferably now. "Oh, look at my wrist, I have to go. Keep me posted on this, will you? I'll go see if anything new happened at the doctor's office." She heard Dean and Sam repeat 'wrist', but she had already bolted for the door, and Gabriel was close at her heels. They headed out of the hospital, then made their way into the alleyway next to the line of shops beside the hospital. Alexandra turned roughly, and Gabriel put his hands up.

"Before you go AWOL, I'm just as surprised as you are that he saw me."

"Yeah, I figured that, but… do you have any idea how he could-"

"Angels can see past any tricks any species pull."

Alexandra turned quickly, ready to cause some bodily harm. The comment hadn't come from the archangel. Upon Gabriel stepping forward as she turned, she stopped. Castiel was standing in front of them once again, and once again, his eyes were on Gabriel. She wanted to flinch. She should've known that there was more to the single, quick stare. He appeared to be one of those guys who would say one thing, then a whole lecture later on. .. And now this guy thought they were pulling some trick.

"Bro, listen." Gabriel crossed the distance between himself and the angel. "This isn't a trick. This one, here-" He motioned at Alex, who waved again. "Her little sister screwed up a resurrection spell, and here I am, in ghost form…" Gabriel frowned and something resembling realization shone in his eyes. "That's right! Of course angels can see ghosts!"

Castiel merely looked at him "I suppose this makes sense with the prophecy… I just don't understand why it is you that was chosen…"

It was Gabriel's turn to narrow his eyes. "Prophecy? Chosen…?"

Castiel ignored his brother and turned to Alexandra. "His story is true? He's not…" He trailed off, searching for the term Dean had taught him ages ago. " Blackmailing you in any way?"

Gabriel snorted. "Cas, usually you ask that when the other party isn't around."

Alexandra shook her head, cutting him off. "No. He's telling you the truth. My sister got hold of some old… equipment, and…" She glanced back at Gabriel. "… I haven't had a minute of peace since."

Gabriel winked and clicked his tongue.

Castiel sighed, then advanced on her. "You won't mind if I check your story, then."

Alexandra blinked, not exactly what he was getting at. "No…?"

Castiel raised his hands to her head, and she looked at him uncertainly. He didn't seem like the emotional kind of guy- sorry, _angel,_ but something in his eyes tells her to trust him. She waited, then with a jolt, saw exactly what she had two days prior- the lights flickering, her sister and her friends standing around the Ouija board, then Gabriel standing in the living room, throwing theories on what the Hell had happened. A moment later, and it was all over. She rocked back and forth slightly, trying to get her bearings back.

Gabriel walked over to her and gave her a once over, making sure no damage was done past the momentary dizziness. He wanted to laugh at himself and the fact that after two days and several arguments, he was protective of her already. "So, does it check out, Bro?"

Castiel nodded. "Her side does. I would favor seeing her sister's side, just to be certain."

"Then come with us." Alexandra offered. "There's no sense in putting it off. Neither of us have anything to hide."

"Hold on, Sister." Gabriel cut her off. "What were you saying with that prophecy and a ghost… am I involved? Spit it out."

Castiel licked his lips. "I'm afraid I've already said too much, Brother." He looked down. "Now, for the sake of our family, I will not tell Dean and Sam that you're back, as you asked… unless it is absolutely necessary… which it may become very soon."

Gabriel went to object further, but in a blink of an eye, the angel was gone.

"Wow… he was… friendly." Alexandra rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Totally. You should've seen him at parties." Gabriel replied. "Life of the thing, that one."

Alexandra chuckled, then nodded. "Come on. Let's go see if any of those prophecies up there have written prologues down here."

"What, you have an angelic library somewhere hidden in your house?" Gabriel chuckled.

"No, but I have connections who do."

* * *

Meanwhile, a few feet away, beside the hospital, the Winchesters were watching the pair- well, part of the pair, anyway. Dean sighed and looked at Sam. "How come it's always the hot ones who turn out to be crazy?"

"Crazy? Dean, she was just talking to Castiel-"

"Yeah, and he came to her, which is another thing that's just…. throwing me for loops here, but… seriously. I thought she was cool." Dean replied, shifting to get more comfortable in the hiding spot they were in.

"She was talking to Castiel so a lot of people could just mutter to themselves about how he… presents himself and talks." Sam finished. "I'm sure she's fine."

"I'm telling you she's crazy-"

"Then do you think Cas would've stayed that long after reading her mind?" Sam asked. "Come on. Don't write her off that quick. Lots of people mutter to themselves then leave."

"Dude, she looks like Meg- old blonde Meg. That should've warned us in the first place."

A, She does not, it's just the haircut ,B, stop being paranoid. If you wanna think that way, how about we spend more than a day with her, huh?"

"Fine, but if she starts talking about waiting for a train that'll take her far away, I'm gone., and so are you." Dean replied.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

"Uncle Roy!"

Gabriel chuckled when the woman jumped into an unsuspecting older man's arms. The two had ended up going on a forty five minute road trip which proved to be tolerable once they had the topic of what Castiel said to keep them talking civilly. He watched the man's face light up after looking quite stunned for a moment. There was something about the guy he automatically liked. Maybe it was the guy's smile, or maybe just the way he looked at Alexandra- like he really cared. In Gabriel's preivous line of work, it was a very rare sight to see, with the acception of how the Muttonheads looked at each other.

Roy Bassler put down his niece after a good few seconds of returning the bear hug. "It's about time I see one of you, girlie! Where the Hell have you been? Where's Hannah?" The forty-seven year old asked.

"Busy, and hopefully at home."

Roy clapped her on the back. "Ah. You and me both, Alex. Come on in. Sorry it's a mess."

"Aw, it's nothing I haven't seen before." Alexandra nudged his arm, then weaved her way through the stacks of paper and other odds and ends around the living room. She sat down in the chair that her family had named hers, and watched Roy head into the kitchen. She accepted the offer for a beer and waited patiently, watching Gabriel look at several of the papers that were on the floor, reminding her of a curious child. She arched an eyebrow when he bent down and tilted his head, examining a photo.

"I've seen this before…" Gabriel glanced at her. 'Is this guy your connection to the Muttonheads?" He asked, forgetting that they had another person in the area so she wouldn't answer. He pivoted and glanced at her. She shrugged and mouthed 'could be. Why?' He pointed at the person on the far right of the photo. "The Muttonheads know that guy, and the guy next to him looks like your uncle." The archangel nodded towards the kitchen.

Alexandra nodded in return, then glanced up when Roy came in with two beer bottles in hand. "Thanks." She took her own and popped the cap off before taking a swig.

Roy glanced up at her, then chuckled and looked back down.

"Uh oh. What is it?" Alexandra smiled.

"You just looked like your mom. You're really getting her smile, now."

Gabriel tensed. Don't tell me this one's mama and papa-less, too…

"Aw, don't get all soft. We can both still kick your ass and look pretty doing it."

Gabriel relaxed a bit. Can. Still. Kick. All present tense. So all hunters didn't come with the baggage. That surprised him.

"That you can… God, could you imagine your Mom coming at me with a knife?"

The two burst out laughing now, and for once, Gabriel sat quietly, feeling rather awkward. Feeling strangely humble, he got up and headed for the kitchen to give them alone time. What he didn't count on, however, was the literal electric shock he felt upon going through the archway. He yelped, then felt himself get launched backwards. Alexandra heard his yelp and looked back in time to see him get clotheslined back across the room and through the exterior wall into the front yard. "Gabriel?" His name was out of her mouth before she can even think , and it took her a minute to register she said it. At first, she didn't't even move, then she looked at her uncle, who was arching an amused eyebrow at her.

Roy leaned forward. "Now Honey, don't get me wrong. I love you and your sister and all, but being that Hannah isn't here, I knew this wasn't a pleasure visit. Who just walked into the trap? Friend of yours? What kind are they? Ghost? Ghoul? Angel? Friend who decided doing a spell would be fun and it bit them in the ass? Alexandra Lynn, so help you God if it's a demon."

Alexandra flinched. She had forgotten after one or two close calls, Roy had bobby trapped every entrace but the main one to send anything other than a human out of the house in lightning speed. He wanted to make his enemies feel proud at thinking they were successful in invading his home, then be proven wrong shortly after. Unfortunately for her latest… could she even call Gabriel a friend yet? Aquantiance, that was it. Her latest acquantance turne that literal. How the Hell was she going to explain their ordeal? Should she even try? She trusted Roy not to say anything or think she was insane, but it was a crazy idea all the same. "What if I told you he was… two of those things?"

"Depends which two." Roy shrugged. "Bring your friend back in here… what was his name? Gabriel?" He chuckled. "Like the archangel?"

Alexandra sighed, realizing Roy was breaking his own rule about asking questions of the supernatural variety, but after Gabriel practically got electrocuted and she yelled his name, it was only fair. "Try the Archangel Gabriel." She replied, gritting her teeth. She had to admit she was a little worried she didn't hear Gabriel yelling his complaints outside.

"That's what I asked."

"No, Uncle Roy. I mean the Arch. Like, the real McCoy."

Roy stared at her, then laughed. "Bullshit!"

"I really wish it was, the way he is."

Roy shook his head. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Alexandra laughed nervously. "Well, as you probably guessed by now, that's a little hard, being that Hannah and I are the only ones who can see or hear him."

"Alright then, bring him in so you can play as translator."

"… He's not gonna say a word now that you electrocuted him."

"He can and he will." Roy replied.

Alexandra clenched her jaw and raised her eyebrows. She figured that things were about to get as awkward as they were with Castiel. "I'll be right back, then." She got up and opened the front door. She wasn't sure whether or not to laugh or sympathize when she saw Gabriel lying in the middle of the yard, breathing and conscious, but staring up at the sky, trying to figure out what had just happened. "Um… are you okay?"

"Give me a second to get the feeling back in my ass and I'll let you know." With quite a bit of difficulty, Gabriel rose to his feet, stumbling as he did so. "Well, so much for not feeling anything." He waited to fully get his balance back before looking at her. "…What the Hell was that?"

"My unce's had a few close calls with demons and the like so he puts traps around the house that sends everyone but humans packing."

"Smart guy… well, would be if it didn't work on both sides!"

"I know… after that whole thing, I had to tell him about you. He won't tell anyone, I promise. He's not that kind of guy that blackmails. Anyway. He wants to talk to you through me."

"Fair enough. Through like, possession, or through like I answer the questions and you pass it on?"

"God help you, I pass the answers on. Try and possess me and-"

"First of all, my Dad won't help you. He barely ever helps anything. Second, You'll kill me, blah blah blah. Have him come out here, then. I'm not going back in there. What other traps does he have set?"

Alexandra sighed. "If I could slap both of you, I would. Stay put." She headed back into the house. "He's not coming back in." She suddenly realized how much she felt like she was in grade school, playing messenger between friends who were fighting. "He's not coming back in. He wants you out here."

"Fine by me." Roy got up and headed out the door, He picked a direction to face. "Alright, Gabriel. Question one."

Alexandra coughed and took her uncle by the shoulders, turning him in a one-eighty so he was facing Gabriel.

Roy blinked, then continued to stare ahead. "Before you met my girls, where were you?"

"Dead, stuck between purgatory and heaven… long story." Gabriel replied.

Alexandra relayed the message, and as expected, Roy was more interested in the 'dead' part then the rest. "Dead? Then how the Hell…?"

"Hannah… found the old oija board and a spell book. Thought it would be fun to mess around." Alexandra answered. "Then we got him. Not so fun."

Roy clenched his jaw. "What's Gabriel known as in lore?"

"The messenger God." Gabriel replied.

Upon hearing his passed on answer, Roy kicked at the ground. "I don't even have any other lore questions… how come only these two can see you?"

"The way the spell was done." Alexandra translates again, and finally, Roy seemed to remember his no-big-bits-of-information-just-in-case theory .He grunted. "So what do you need? You want information on how to fix that?"

"Kind of… ya see, we got some information that there may be some

"You heard about that, huh?" Roy crossed his arms.

"Kinda hard not to when you work at the place where the first body showed." Alexandra replied. "So, you have any books with possibilities."

"They're all in the library, hon. Stay a while or take a bunch and go." Roy nodded towards the hallway.

Alexandra nodded quickly, then glanced back at the archangel. In return, he pointed down at himself. "Staying right here, thank you very much." He glanced at the coach beside him and went to sit, only to get shocked once again. It wasn't as heavy this time, but he still got thrown back a good couple of feet. "On the furniture, too?" He grumbled.

Almost as if he heard him, Roy blinked at the spot a couple of feet to Gabriel's right, and sighed. "Sorry, Bucko. Can't be too careful. Angels can take it though, can't they?"

If anyone would ask what the Archangel thought of Roy, he would deny that he liked the guy at first like no tomorrow. He sat up, but still didn't move, for fear of getting himself blown up if he so much as skimmed the wall. He'd take getting stabbed again by his own brother over getting shocked or blown up. Extreme? yes. True? That to. They'd just have to deal with it.


	6. Tired of Proving You Right

"You know what pisses me off about them?"

The elder of the Hennessey siblings was learning fast that when Gabriel wanted to make a point,_ he never shut up_. One spotting of the Winchesters, and he was off the wall, willing to tell anyone in earshot exactly why he was unhappy with them. All Alexandra wanted was silence. Naturally, Gabriel had to screw that up... again, and again, and again.

Alexandra groaned. "You mean there are more reasons other than the fifty you've said in the past…" She glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Forty minutes?"

"Did you not hear them rail on me, sweetheart? I deserve the chance to complain." Gabriel replied, attempting to poke the kitchen counter to prove his point. The attempt didn't work too well.

"You tried to kill them, Gabriel!"

"You say tomato, I say tomatoe. Like I said, I just tried to kill Dean_, a_nd you saw him, he was perfectly fine!" He grinned. "He thought you were pretty fine too, by the looks of it. Anyway, you can call me Gabe by now. I don't mind."

"Well, I do. Have you found anything yet?"

"… I can't turn pages. You do the math." Gabriel replied.

Alexandra reached over and practically slapped the book so the page would turn before going on with her own reading. "This is ridiculous. This has nothing but prophecies involving the apocalypse. Like that'll ever happen." She glanced up at Gabriel's chuckle. "…No!"

Gabriel nodded. "Almost. Hell, I died when it was just getting' started… then the Muttonheads rode in and saved the world." He sighed dramatically. "Again."

She would've laughed and made some sarcastic comment about them saving the world equaled him staying alive, but as he had just said, it didn't go quite that way for him. Hell, he pissed her off, but she wasn't going to be that much of a bitch to him. She coughed and scratched the back of her neck. She hoped for some new distraction, and as if a higher power heard her, Hannah came in the door, muttering something. The teen closed the front door behind her. "Gabriel? Gabe!"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "See, she says it already."

"Because she can tolerate you." Alexandra replied. "We're both in the kitchen, Hann!"

Hannah came in. "So, Gabe, can I borrow your mind for a paper on angels my English teacher is maing us write? It's for some dumb book and the paper barely connects to it, but we need info on all types of angels, including the archangels, so… can you?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Depends. Do you want the whole angel-family-was-about-ten-thousand-times-more-dysfunctional-than-dysfunctional-human-families story, or do you want the basic lies with all of us and what we did and blah blah blah?"

"Well, I was gonna ask for the second choice, but now that you mention the first…" Hannah raised her eyebrows hopefully.

Alexandra laughed. "How're you gonna site that interview? Last I checked you can't just go 'Personal interview: Archangel Gabriel."

"Ah, but Gabe Chricton always works." Gabriel interjected.

Alexandra arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Name I used when I was posing as a janitor back when I was tryin' to find the 's legit, look me up." He tilted his head and smirked at Alexandra, waiting for any counter argument. She just shook her head and put her hands up in surrender. "I'll shut up and go try and find more stuff. Get interviewing. I'll be in the computer room." She took the book she had been skimming through, spun on the stool, and headed off down the hallway and into the computer room, dumping the books on the table as she did so. After flipping through for another few minutes, she gave up on the book and turned on the computer. Maybe some of the crackpot theories on the net weren't so crackpot after all. Four websites and a near virus-bomb later, she gave up on those, too. "Damn it." She headed out of the room, only to hear howls of laughter, then her sister practically shriek 'what?'

"No, seriously. I was really bored. It was either them getting chased by the Smoke Monster, reavers, or Klingons, and then they found me out anyway, so I couldn't even choose."

"Well, I would've gone with Klingons, since I mean, they deal with smoke monsters on a regular basis, and who knows, there may be real-world equivalents to reavers out here."

"True. Hey, look, Big Sister's back." Gabriel smiled at Alexandra. "Caught ya."

"Oh relax. I wasn't spying. I just overheard part of that conversation and came back." She shot back at him. "Still nothing on your friend's-"

"_Brother's_,"Gabriel corrected.

"Brother's prophecy theory. I-" She flinched when the phone rang. "You know, you would think a forced day off would be a nice change. This one, you just can't get a break." She picked up the phone. "Hi, Alex here… Oh, hi. Right… what?" She cupped her chin with her palm. "Two more? They were able to be identified this time? … … Where, again? ' Kay…" She scribbled down an address, then paused. "Wait, isn't that… shit. I'll be right there." She grabbed her jacket from the chair Gabriel was sitting in. "Two more bodies. Apparently there are a couple of real FBI agents coming here now since there have been so many murders." She pulled her jacket on, and Gabriel went to sit up. "Don't you dare."

Gabriel blinked. "But I've been helpful, haven't I?" He tried to pull an innocent face, but when she just glared him down, it dropped. He knew that face. "You knew these guys…. It's not your uncle, is it?"

Hannah, who had been fiddling with her pen, glanced up, looking absolutely terrified.

Alexandra shook her head. "No, but… these guys were the second closest thing to him." She sighed. "It's my fifth grade teacher and his wife… they're old neighbors. Babysat me all the time. My folks and them were surprised when the school let him be my teacher…"

"Wait, the Rollands?" Hannah asked. When Alexandra nodded, the younger sister frowned. "Oh, no…"

Alexandra sighed, straightening out. "I could do without the wisecracks for this one."

Gabriel put his hands up. "Alright. I'll just stick around here, looking for your most precious belongings." He isn't surprised when her hand swipes through his head. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? Sit here in this chair and stare at the wall?"

"Preferably, yes." Alexandra shot back.

He made a face at her, then attempted to put his feet up on the table, failing miserably.

Alexandra sighed again. "Just… just try and behave, okay? Both of you?" With a final tug on her jacket, she headed out the door and towards the main part of town where the Rolland house was. She spotted the Impala a couple of blocks from the house and went over to it, looking around for the owners. She raised an eyebrow when she saw them coming out of the woods.

"We've been to a couple of houses already so we don't wanna get pointed out." Dean explained, walking over to her. "So, we have two new unlucky bastards to add to the list. Died the same way, too…" He blinked when she glared at him. "What?"

"I knew them. Can you not say 'unlucky bastards;- in any case, for that matter?"

At first, Dean didn't know what to say. He simply coughed, muttered an apology and looked for a distraction.

"Lex?"

The three turned in time to see a cop coming towards them.

Dean made an uneasy noise from the back of his throat and advanced.

Alexandra grabbed his arm. "Hold on. We can't just distrust all cops because of what happened last time."

"Oh really? Watch me." Dean replied.

"Easy, Cowboy. He's another friend." Alexandra replied.

"Yeah, small town, that's always the deal. All the townsfolk are friends… then they start ripping each other apart or eating each other or worse."

Alexandra blinked. "… Do you ever watch your mouth?"

Dean narrowed his eyes. "… Did you ever meet some really obnoxious Janitor or a trickster with a creepy smile or anything? 'Cause that's something he'd say, and you just pulled the thing with the sugar that he would do just the other day-"

"No, haven't run into anyone like that. I'm just your friendly neighborhood sarcastic person." Alexandra replied, a little too quickly for her taste. However, Dean just shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the cop, as she did. "Hey, Frank." She offered a sad smile. "How's everything going?"

Frank Evans shrugged. "For us… fine. For you… not so much."

When Frank's hand shot out the same moment his eyes turned black, Alexandra had half a mind to try and duck, but he was faster. Once the demon possessing Frank was holding her up by the throat, a few inches off the ground, the woman started kicking. "But I've been wrong before!" she called back to the Winchesters, referring to the 'friend' comment. The admission wasn't needed, being that Dean had swung the Impala's door open to get the closest thing to a weapon, while Sam had started up a spell to expel the demon. Alexandra managed to kick herself free by the time Sam was almost done and smoke was already rising from Frank's mouth. She crab walked back and in turn, Dean dragged her behind Sam and himself, and the spell was done seconds later. Despite the fact that her possessed friend had just tried to kick her ass, she was still worried. "Frank? Frank!" She ran over once she was satisfied the demon possessing him was really gone, feeling for a pulse. She found one and sighed. She knew how rare that could be. She respected Frank. He was a kind family man, and she didn't want his family to lose him. "He'll be fine, but we have to get him out of here."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You're willing to touch that guy?"

"Like I said, he's a friend, and the thing's gone now. Are you gonna help or not?" She struggled to get a good grip under his arms.

The Winchesters looked at each other, then shrugged and went to help her carry Frank into the woods, laying him down in the closest open area. With a final glance around, they headed back to the Impala. Alexandra was the first to speak, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, every cop in this town has been taken over, so the agents are probably gone as well. How are we getting in to check out the Rollands?" She crossed her arms. "My uncle, James and I are the only hunters around here, and all demons know you two. We're blocked completely at the moment."

"Then we wait until we're not blocked and we check it out, we gank bastards who may catch us. Problem solved."

"If we even get that far." Sam pointed out, then looked at Alexandra. "Look, I'm sorry that you knew these two latest victims, but… maybe we shouldn't go investigating right off the bat…" He wanted to continue, say that the demons probably wouldn't dump the bodies in some random sewer, but even with 'don't' the mere idea might break the woman in front of him. "We can go back after… we have more time."

Alexandra sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just…"

Sam put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know. We've both been there. Trust us. Just… Go with me… us, on this one, huh?"

Alexandra gave him another once over, then reluctantly nodded. "Alright, we wait."

* * *

Gabriel was almost bored to tears. Alex was gone, and therefore his target of self-amusement was gone. He had tried poking fun at Hannah at her own expense, but the girl either took after her sister and went with it, or didn't even get the jabs. He had settled for practicing trying to hold things and climb stairs and the like, only managing to succeed a little more than he had before. He was ready to go against Alexandra's orders like he had each time so far. He made it as far as the entryway when Alexandra came through the door, with the Muttonheads in tow. "You brought them back? Why?"

"You can put your stuff upstairs. Guest room is second door on your right." Alexandra told the brothers, who in turn nodded and headed up the stairs.

Gabriel frowned. "Wait, they're staying? Seriously, why?"

"Because there's serious shit going on in town with all these deaths, a guy I knew since grade school was possessed and tried to choke me to death about twenty minutes ago, and all the hunters in one spot so we can back each other up works better than all of us spread out." Alexandra replied.

Gabriel blinked. He hadn't expected the mini rant that contained an answer. He expected a 'screw you' or something of the like. "But why them? Why can't your uncle stay here instead?"

"Because you didn't seem to mind my uncle when you followed me to his place-"

"He electrocuted me and didn't care!"

"- and the brothers and I work well together already. Uncle Roy would be too protective and end up getting one of us killed."

" But I don't work well with them!" Gabriel continued to argue.

"Well, being that they can't see or hear you, I don't see how that's relevant." Alexandra replied, going into the pantry in the kitchen.

Gabriel would later deny appreciating the presented view once again.

She pushed a few boxes aside and got a canister of salt from the back, putting it on the counter. "You should learn to play nice so when we fix your problem and they can see you, you have a head start on you guys tolerating each other." She continued. "Because so help you…" She stopped, remembering his comeback to that phrase. "I will end all of you, even if it takes a lot getting you back." She finally finished. She looked around. "The paper. The paper may have something on the attacks by now. Dean said they happened last night." She looked around for it, only to remember she hadn't gotten it from the stoop in her rush to get to the Rolland's place, and in turn, home. She went out and got it, then tossed it back on the coffee table in the living room. She went to work flipping through it, going from main stories to the obituaries. Nothing. Shit. She skimmed again for any other clues, and the closest she got was a story on a house fire, and a little girl who survived it. She frowned-_ fire_. It was a long shot, but it could be something

Eager to get things back to normal, he leaned over. "Whatcha got there, Xanie? Can I call you Xanie?"

"No." Alexandra replied, getting annoyed just as he had hoped.

"Fine… Xanie. So whatcha got?"

"Call it suspicious circumstances." She spun the paper around so he could read the headline. "House burned down. Being that the victims are always burn victims…" She shrugged, then noticed Gabriel staring at the picture of the kid. "You know, your fascination with kids kinda worries me."

"I'm not that way inclined, I assure you, Sweet Cheeks. Now if you'll look closer, it's the kid from the near-crash, and the hospital."

She glanced at the photo next to the article. "Don't be ridiculous, it can't…" She blinked. "It_ is_."

"Toldja." Gabriel smirked. "So… we gonna check it out?" He waggled his eyebrows.

Alexandra sighed. "You're not gonna drop it 'til we do, are you?"

"Nope." Gabriel popped the 'e' and his smirk grew.

"Then we'll wait until the Winchesters are off on their own, then we'll see."

"See about what when we're off on our own?"

Jane jumped. She had forgotten the Winchesters were even in the house. Hannah had bolted over to the couch and thrown herself over the side and scooted to where Gabriel was sitting to make it look like the sisters had been talking. Jane sputtered for a moment before holding up the paper. "Coming up with possible leads. This girl here survived a house fire. It may be nothing, but it could've been one of the first cases… with a survivor that these guys didn't count on." When Dean held his hand out, Alexandra tossed the paper at him. He caught it and opened it, leaning so Sam could read it over his shoulder. "Sounds like a plan. Sam and I were talking upstairs and figured we'll so some snooping around the precinct tomorrow."

Alexandra raised her eyebrows. "After what we just dealt with earlier?"

Dean waved his hand dismissively. "We're big boys. We can handle it."

Alexandra shrugged, remembering how quickly they had offed the demon inside of Frank. "Alright, then. Get some sleep. Sounds like we're all gonna need it if we're all gonna do this stuff tomorrow."

* * *

Hannah paced down the hallway, cell phone and phone number of the hospital the girl had been transported to in hand. " Yes, hello. Um, I'm a friend of the…" She glanced at the last name of the girl. "Benson family. I used to babysit Julie and I just saw her in the paper and-" The woman on the other end started babbling quickly, then before Hannah knew it, she got hung up on. "Okay, then." She dialed another number. "Hey, Al. She's probably at Saint Mary's, twenty minutes away."

"Got it. Call me if anything new comes up."

"Got it, back at ya."

Alexandra hung up her own phone. "Mini road trip again." She reported to the archangel beside her. She drove into the next u-turn available, and headed towards the other side of town. She saw the smirk growing on his face out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, breathe. This could still be nothing. You shouldn't get your hopes up so quick."

"Oh? How would you know, Dream Crusher?"

She shot him a disapproving look, but when he offered one of the first genuine smiles he had sent her, she realized he meant no harm. "…Experience. End of story."

Gabriel shrugged in surrender and glanced back out the window. The rest if the ride went on in half awkward, half comfortable silence. When they reached the hospital, the silence was broken when Gabriel decided to go back to his normal self. "Come on, Blondie. Let's go prove you wrong!" He just about hopped out of the car and headed for the building.

Alexandra just watched him, then chuckled when he stopped short upon seeing the stairs leading up to the electric doors. However, her moment of victory was short lived, being that he found a ramp a few moments later and managed to get up that. He turned back towards her, still in the car, and raised an expectant eyebrow. She got out of the car, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Smartass." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Chump." She muttered, then winked, heading into the hospital. "Alright, now the hard part: finding her."

"Not quite. She's this way." Gabriel replied, leading the way.

Alexandra stared at him, then hurried to keep up, avoiding the eyes of passing doctors, interns and nurses. Once she was satisfied there was no one in earshot down one hallway, she turned to him, running to catch up. "Slow down! Where the Hell are you going? How do you know where she is?"

Gabriel glanced at her. "You wanna know the weird bit about this?"

"Enlighten me." Alexandra deadpanned.

He sighed. She asked. "I have no idea how I know."


	7. Girl with a Broken Smile

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews… let's aim for three for this chapter, here. Anyways, I don't own Supernatural, what you don't recognize is mine, blah blah blah. This chapter's on the short side. Life calls, ya know? (sighs)**

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Alexandra was doubling the size of her strides to keep up with the archangel, who was sidling along the wall, turning around at every corner. She had no doubt the "Secret Agent Man", "James Bond" or "Mission Impossible" theme was going on in his head. "Gabriel! No need for theatrics! No one can see you."

"It's called having fun, Xanie. You should try it sometime!"

"Oh, shut u-"

"Shh! Someone's coming." Gabriel cut her off, glancing around.

She stopped and shot him a look that said 'I'm onto you', but when she heard footsteps, she bolted for the nearest open door. Unfortunately for her, that meant a janitor's closet, and by the smell of it, some chemical was leaking from one of the containers. She held back a gag until the footsteps stopped. She started coughing into her sweatshirt sleeve. She reached for the doorknob, managing to hold back the scream that nearly came up when Gabriel poked his head through the door and told her the coast was clear. "Alright. You go ahead. I'll keep look out so I don't end up having to get stuck in another closet." She opened the closet again and slipped out, looking around. Gabriel had already disappeared, off on his reconnaissance mission.

* * *

A couple of hallways down, Gabriel was proud to find a few overnight rooms. He overheard a doctor telling a nurse about 'transfers', so he figured he had to be close. "Alright, Gabester. Shouldn't be too far now." He muttered to himself, then turned to the files in folders on the walls next to the doors to the overnight rooms. "Jason… Kyle… Hunter… Julie- Julie!" He turned his attention back to the last door and peeked into the window. Sure enough, there was a little girl inside, turned away from the door, but her size and light blonde hair were enough of an answer for him. He was about to go inside, when something practically shoved him through the door. He turned around, wondering what it was, but when no one was in sight, he just shrugged and turned back to the girl, settling for just studying her. Why was he drawn to this kid?

"My mommy says it's rude to stare."

Gabriel froze. Was there another person in here other than him and the girl? He craned his neck to see if someone was sitting on the floor on the other side of the bed. No one was there. He frowned, then stopped once again when the girl looked right at him, just as Castiel had. No, this kid wasn't an angel. How could she be? She couldn't see him. There must've been someone outside.

The glare that wasn't at all threatening was back a moment later. "Can't you talk?"

Gabriel's wasn't sure what to do when he saw that there was in fact no one around. He didn't expect a small bag of soup crackers to get thrown at him and go through his head. He saw it land, then turned back to the girl. Yeah, she was definitely looking at him. _What. The. Hell?_

Julie looked scared at the fact that the object she tossed at the newcomer went through his head, but at the same time, took it in strides. She pushed the blankets off of her body and sat up on the bed, dangling her legs over the side. "You're pretty. Are you an angel?"

Gabriel's jaw dropped. This was… what was this? "You… you can see me?"

Julie nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I can see you, Silly." She hopped down from the bed and walked over to him, and Gabriel wasn't sure what to do. The same force that had pushed him into the room seemed to force him downwards, and before he knew it, he was on his knees to be level with the girl. What the… The girl smiled, then reached up, over his shoulder, where one of his wings would have been had he been somewhere they were visible.

"I knew you're an angel! You're not like the others. You're blue and green. Not grey."

Gabriel is speechless once again. This kid couldn't have been more than five, and she was talking like a full grown crazy person, or at least someone a lot older who knew far too much about his world for her age. She knew about angels, wings, and had she been talking about auras with the colors? What was going on? And where the Hell was Alex? He just kept watching the girl, who was watching him right back, and then he realized something. Her hand was on his shoulder. It wasn't going through. It was just resting there- and he felt it. He turned his head slowly, still not letting his eyes leave her. "ALEX!" He hoped the woman could hear him, but after a few moments without her coming in, he decided to try again. This time she did come in, and upon seeing the girl touching him with no problem, she merely blinked. "…Gabriel?"

Gabriel looked at her, then looked at her hand. He reached for it, and she met him halfway. His hand went right through hers, but unlike the last few times, there was a light tingle when they made contact.

"What's going on?" Alexandra asked, looking from the archangel to the girl, who was looking at her curiously.

"I have no idea… again." Gabriel replied.

Julie finally spoke up, still looking at Alex like she was some giant mystery. "Are you friends with this angel?"

Alexandra stared right back at Julie. She definitely walked in at the wrong moment. "Gabriel, seriously, what's…?"

She turned around when there was a rushing sound and a few papers on the table across the room scattered to the floor. The three turned around to see Castiel walking towards them.

Gabriel stood up. "Bro! A little explaining would be nice!"

"No time. Whatever you just did… it sent a message to angels and demons alike. We need to go. Now." Castiel replied, raising his hand towards Gabriel and Alexandra's foreheads. Before Alexandra could object and demand what he was about to do, she felt like she was being constricted, then a moment later, she was back in her living room, and Gabriel was beside her. "Okay, what the Hell was that?" She demanded.

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply that he still had no idea, when Castiel reappeared, this time holding onto Julie.

Alexandra froze. Wondering what Castiel had just done to get them home was dropped from her list of questions. Now she was just worried about the fact that the angel had just taken a girl- a girl who probably had an aunt or uncle or someone on their way to get her. That was easily a kidnapping charge. "No way. No! Bring her back!" She ordered, just as Gabriel started shooting off questions about the events that had just transpired.

"Bro, tell us what just happened. Why can she do that? Why can she touch me and others still can't?"

"Gabriel, if I was permitted to tell you, I would, but-"

"Damn it, Castiel! I'm your brother! Brothers are supposed to help each other! Tell me!" He pointed at the girl, feeling bad, but not by much, as he realized she looked terrified at his yelling. It wasn't his fault that Lucifer stabbing him crossed his mind when he said 'help each other.' Okay, so maybe if it was his own brain bringing up the memory, it was his fault, but that was besides the point.

Castiel shook his head. "I've just given you more time. Be prepared to run. You'll find your answers soon."

Before Gabriel could object again, the angel was gone. The moment Castiel had disappeared, Alexandra had facepalmed. "Oh my God. He just kidnapped a girl and left her here. Oh my God, oh my God., oh my God. I'm screwed. I'm going to jail."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you mean _demon_ jail? No one's gonna know in the legal system."

"Shut up, Gabriel!" Alexandra snapped. "I'm dead. I'm so dead. I shouldn't even bother with what just happened with you and the kid. Oh God." She headed straight for the couch and practically fell onto it, grabbing one of the pillows.

Gabriel watched her, then turned his attention back to Julie. She was taking this too well. "Um… your name is Julie, right?"

Julie nodded rapidly. "Mm hm."

Gabriel licked his lips. What was he supposed to say? "Uh… you called me an angel. Who told you about angels? Why do you think I'm one?"

The girl giggled. "I don't think you're one. I know you're one."

Gabriel blinked. "Well then, who told you, and how do you know?"

"My Daddy did, and I can see your wings." She pointed at where his wings would've been again.

Gabriel frowned, seeing a bad burn that spanned from her shoulder to her elbow. He looked the girl in the eye. "Um… what does…." He flinched, remembering the headline in the paper that she was the only survivor of the fire. "What did your Daddy do as a job, Princess?"

"He's an angel, like you." Julie replied.

Gabriel forced a smile, and Alexandra muttered another 'Oh God' through the pillow she was currently pressing against her face. "He's an angel, huh? What's his name?"

The girl shrugged. "He said his real name is a secret. He lets Mommy and I call him Ben."

Gabriel frowned at the 'secret' bit. He got a little closer to the girl. "You know, most girls would've been really scared if this happened to them, taken by a bunch of strangers to a place they didn't know."

Alexandra's tenth 'oh my god' was heard.

Julie shrugged again. "Mommy always said to trust angels. You and the messy man are angels, so I know not to be afraid."

Gabriel glanced at Alexandra. "She's not an angel."

Julie smiled. "I sensed she was a nice person. Mommy said to trust what I sense, too."

Gabriel matched her smile, and something made him reach out and touch her shoulder. He was still stunned he could touch her as well, but he took it as it came by now. He figured he would have to accept things quickly if something as strange and bad as Castiel had described was coming. "Who's your mom?"

"A human, like your friend." Julie replied. "Your friend is nicer than mommy, though. I feel it."

Gabriel didn't hear the last part. His attention had completely dropped after 'a human.' Her father was an angel, her mother was human. She was a Nephilim. One of the very things he had been ordered to aid in the destruction of when he was still… up there. It struck a chord somewhere in him, and he wanted nothing more then to hug the girl and try to block out that mistake, but he resisted. "Did you hear the doctors say anything about you having family coming to get you from the hospital?"

Julie shook her head. "They didn't talk to me." She leaned forward, towards his ear. "They were bad people."

Gabriel wasn't sure if she meant bad because they had to give her medicine or the very probable possibility that they were demons. If that was the case, there was no doubt that this whole down was as good as gone. "Do you know any of your family's phone numbers, Princess?"

The girl suddenly looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I only knew my mommy and daddy… and they're gone now." She let out a whimper and threw her arms around Gabriel's neck, and Gabriel wasn't sure what else to do other than hold her and let her cry. He looked at Alexandra, who was looking back at him from over the pillow. She mouthed 'what's going on?' and he merely took one hand off the girl's back and turned it over to aid in the 'still have no idea' response he gave. He pointed at the paper on the table. 'Family?' he mouthed. She nodded and got up quietly, heading over. After going over the article three times, she looked at him and shook her head.

Gabriel closed his eyes. Yeah, she was right. They were screwed. Now he finally knew how Dean and Sam felt with not knowing what the Hell was going on in a situation they had no control over and was preordained. It sucked pretty bad, if he did say so himself.

The two looked up when they heard someone come down the stairs, then both shook their heads when they saw it was Hannah, and the teen just stared at Gabriel holding the girl.

Julie saw the latest addition to the group out of the corner of her eye and pulled away from Gabriel. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" Hannah asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Julie!" Julie smiled.

Hannah blinked. "Wait, like, Julie from the fire, Julie?"

Gabriel shot the teen a venomous look when Julie's smile faded again. She took the girl's hand in his own. Amazing how you miss human contact when you can't touch or be touched in so short a time. "She doesn't know better, Princess. It's okay."

Julie relaxed, but not by much.

Gabriel looked at her for a couple of moments, then sighed. "You know what? Why don't you sit here, Hannah, turn on… Disney Channel or something for her, and… my friend and I will have a little talk in the other room." He picked Julie up and sat her down on the couch beside Alexandra. "Alex."

"Mm hm." Alexandra mumbled through clenched teeth. She practically bolted for the kitchen, and Gabriel followed. Once they were in the far corner, Alexandra turned to him, and punched through his arm. "Damn it!"

Gabriel scoffed. "You still think I'm screwing with you about this whole can't touch-or-be-touched thing!"

"After what I just saw? Yes, I am! You had no problem touching the kid!"

"Are you calling me a pervert?"

"No!"

"Then what are you getting at?" Gabriel demanded.

"It's just… weird." She sighed. "

"Did you not hear the girl? She's half angel. Cas saw me and just brought me back here. He could touch me, and now, apparently this kid can. Maybe it's just an angel-ghost thing… or… angel-ex angel… thing…" He shook his head. "Look, I don't know, okay? Just… trust me on this. I have no idea what's going on, either. This is just as new to me as it is to you, babe."

"Don't call me that. And whatever, I just… I need time to process."

Gabriel snorted. "You and me both."

She sighed. "What're we gonna do about Julie. We really did basically just… kidnap her right from the hospital."

"We'll work on it. We have time."

"But your brother said we don't." Alexandra pointed out. "He said 'they'd' be coming for us… whoever they are."

"Well, for now we do. Last I checked, all the cops are possessed and hospital workers can't follow angels."

"If they're not possessed by now, too. The girl said they were bad people…" Alexandra crossed her arms over her chest. "I want this to be over already. My list of offenses was short compared to what it's gonna be now.

"Well, that's also your whole anti-fun outlook on life…" Gabriel shrugged.

"Oh, hush. I'll go pull out the bed from the sofa for her. Now we have a full house… you're helping me clean up the mess we're gonna have when we get you back to being solid and visible for everyone. I'm just giving you fair warning."

Gabriel made a face. "I'll just snap myself the Hell outta here for a couple of days."

"Ha, yeah, we'll see about that."

* * *

"Boss, they got away. Kayne thinks one of the fallen helped 'em."

The demon's boss glanced away from the stars he had been looking at. "With the girl, Thanik?"

The demon, Thanik, hung his head, then nodded. "Yes, sir. We tried to get them. The angel was fast, though. We didn't get a trace…"

"We don't need one." His boss cut him off. "I know where they took her." He sighed and gripped the railing of the balcony he was on. "Never send a worthless grunt to do a real job…"

Thanik blinked. "…Boss…?"

His boss turned to him. "I'm sorry, Thanik. I was truly starting to like you… but this is the third time you and your men have failed. You know the human phrase."

Thanik shook his head, watching his boss flex his fingers in his right hand. "Boss…" He repeated, swallowing hard. The attempt at an apology fell short, and as his boss brought his hand up, Thanik let out a scream of pain as a harsh, unbearable, burning that started at his core then expanded outward. His screams increased until he saw a flash of blood red light, followed by white light, and then he saw no more.

His boss merely glanced at what remained of the demon, before turning back to the sky. "Where are you hiding, Alex…?"


	8. Give Me Affection

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Anyways, I don't own Supernatural, what you don't recognize is mine, blah blah blah. Oh, and I don't own CSI/ CSI Miami/ Hannah Montana, either, for the sake of the references. Enjoy. **

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The Winchesters had come back to the house, and while they were iffy about the fact that apparently Castiel had basically kidnapped a kid and Alexandra was going along with it, the girl was still a lead. Gabriel was learning very quickly that it was indeed far from fun, dealing with someone with equal energy to him. He had spent most of the night with Julie, trying to get answers out of the girl who refused to sit still, or even go to sleep when he insisted that she did. He spent two minutes trying to keep her sitting on the coach, which led to him getting playfully bitten and swatted at. When Julie managed to knock papers and books off the coffee table at three in the morning and managed to wake Alexandra up, Gabriel pointed an accusing finger at the girl. There was no way he was getting pegged for that one.

She sighed, then motioned at him to follow her. She led him into the hallway, then turned to him. "What do you need to know?"

"Who her parents are, what happened right before the fire, if anything weird happened before the night of the fire, anything and everything. I just don't like this."

"Who does. Alright, give me an hour and I'll see what I can do."

"An hour? What are you gonna do for an hour?" Gabriel demanded. "I could get at least ten facts out of the kid in an hour!"

Gabriel was wrong. After ten minutes of unsuccessfully trying to get the girl to sit still once again, the archangel gave up and headed for the kitchen. "I hate kids. What are you doing, anyway?" He stopped when he got the whiff of something. "Cookies? You're baking for the kid? Ha, and you complained about my tactics. I don't bribe."

"It'll work." She winked. "Trust me."

Gabriel glared at her, but said nothing.

She grinned. "See? You know it's gonna work, don't ya?"

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled something.

Once the cookies were in the oven, Dean and Hannah had come down to 'investigate' after smelling them. They quickly sent right back upstairs, after Alexandra told them they were for Julie, and in turn, when Dean got back to the guest room, Sam mumbled 'toldja' and promptly fell back asleep.

"Hey, Julie. You want one?"

The girl beamed, then took one of the cookies, immediately starting to nibble on it.

Alexandra watched her, then took one of the cookies as well. "You know, my mom used to make these things every other day. It was awesome. My Dad, Uncle and cousins always wanted her to start up a bakery in town, or at least bake for Troy's diner. Have you ever been there?"

Julie stopped nibbling and nodded before going right back to eating.

Alexandra smiled. "Your mom ever bake?" She flinched at how horrible the question sounded after her parents had died in a fire. Even Gabriel flinched. "She like cookies, cakes?"

"Cakes were her favorite to make." Julie replied, reaching for another cookie and starting on it.

Alexandra nodded. "My mom always joked around she'd call the place Harriet and Danny's Sweets. Danny was my dad. What do you think your mom would've called her place, if she had one?"

Julie shrugged.

Alexandra smiled. "Come on, try. Use my mom's idea for your mom's."

Gabriel finally figured out what she was getting at. Finding out the father's name. He wondered if the girl would back down and tell her or keep up her Winchester-like stubbornness.

Julie thought for a moment. "Delia and…" She paused and looked down at her feet.

Alexandra leaned forward. Maybe the girl truly didn't know. What if this guy was that secretive that his own daughter just knew him as 'Daddy'?

Julie thought again, then her face lit up. "Delia and Win's Sweets!" She bounced up and down.

Alexandra laughed. Well, that was a start. Some name- Win. Wait, Win? She turned to Gabriel. "The brother's aren't… are they?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No. Dad help the world if they ever became angels, too. Win… … who do I know with the name or nickname 'Win'?" He knelt next to Alexandra. "You sure, kiddo? You did say your Daddy's name was a secret." He poked her knee and offered her a genuine smile to indicate he didn't mean to intimidate her.

Julie nodded. "Mommy always called Daddy 'Win' when they fought…" She frowned. "And now I'm never gonna see them again." She sniffled.

Gabriel frowned. "Oh, Sweetheart, come here." He sat next to her and she shifted to get closer to him, and Alexandra went to her other side. "You might not be able to see them here anymore." He pointed at the floor. "They're always gonna be in there with you." He turned his finger towards her, pointing at her heart.

Alexandra glanced at him and couldn't help the little smile that escaped her lips. He might have been a jerk to her so far, but as sappy as that was, it was a very sweet thing to say to a little girl who had gone through with something so harsh.

Gabriel mussed the girl's hair. "Don't you worry, Kiddo. We're gonna find out what happened to them. We're gonna help you out. That's a promise." He took her hand. "You got that?"

Jullie looked from the archangel to the woman. "You both are really nice. I wish I could stay here with you instead of staying with my mommy's friend."

The elder of the trio on the couch exchanged looks over the girl's head. "Mommy's friend? You mean there is someone coming for you soon?"

Julie scrunched up her nose. "Yeah, but she's boring. She doesn't talk to me as much as you guys." She looked at Gabriel. "_Ec-specially_ you."

Gabriel chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo, but you can't. You really don't know us and if your mom has someone coming to get you, it's them over people who just seem nice to you." He explained, then paused, as if he really hadn't considered the whole situation. "Didn't your parents ever teach you 'Stranger Danger'?"

Julie rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "I _already told you_ that my mommy always said 'trust angels', and I knew you were one."

"Right, sorry." Gabriel nodded, biting his lip to contain the chuckle that wanted to come up. "So, back to the topic of mom and dad. Ya see, my dad was a good guy, but he liked to… disappear a lot. Was yours like that?"

Alexandra glared at him. That was just about as bad as the 'baked' comment in her opinion, being that it did sound like the girl's father- angel father, was a dud. She had always hated stories like that since her family managed to work so well together.

Julie nodded. "Kinda. Daddy wasn't around much."

Gabriel sighed. The woes of being an angel. "What's your mom's friend's name, Julie?"

"Emma Jones." Julies replied, kicking her feet again. She yawned. "Can I go to sleep now?"

Gabriel's eye twitched and Alexandra just laughed. "Sure can, hon. We'll let you sleep. Sorry we asked you so many questions." She turned to the opposite couch, tossed the cushions off and pulled out the bed she had made earlier. "You can use one of the pillows on that one. Go right ahead."

Julie was more than happy to take a pillow and plop down on the pull-out bed.

The adults left, regrouping in the kitchen.

Gabriel was quiet for a few moments, then, "How did you do that?"

Alexandra grinned, then pretended to think about it for a few seconds. "Let's see... sugar, lots of information being processed and given out, and boredom, that's how. Worked all the time with Hannah." She replied, leaning on the counter.

Gabriel paused, then beamed. "You conniving evil genius, you!" He patted her back, or did the equivalent to it, stopping right when that new tingling feeling started. He was pleased to find that she moved forward as if he had really touched her, making it seem closer to being real.

She turned to him. "Alright, Romeo. Don't get too excited. We still gotta figure this out. Do you have anyone upstairs who can see about this Emma woman? I mean, we're all human here other than you and the girl, so I doubt we're gonna find more than a couple of pages of similar information on her."

"Now… do you know anyone… upstairs who can get us info on this Emma woman?"

Gabriel shrugged. "No one who knows I even exist next to Cas, but my bro did say something about angels and demons alike knowing now so we're probably screwed, an- Castiel! That's it!" He looked up. "Castiel! Get your winged ass down here now!"

Alexandra paused. "… You really think he's gonna respond when he's in the middle of something up there? You aren't his charge, either."

Gabriel ignored her and continued to call for his brother.

Alexandra sighed and turned slightly. "Have it your way." She leaned back to get against the counter again, but being that her sense of balance was still iffy since Castiel had transported her home, she ended up moving too much to the right. She was a moment into falling backwards when someone grabbed her arm to steady her. She looked up, half expecting to see one of the Winchesters- wouldn't talking to herself be a fun thing to come up with an excuse for, but in fact, it was the angel Gabriel had been calling for. She blinked a moment, staring. "Thanks."

Castiel let go of her and nodded, then glanced at his brother. "Has he driven you to the point of insanity yet?"

"Getting there." Alexandra nodded.

Castiel nodded, then turned to Gabriel. "_What?_ We've been over this. I have moments to spare. I thought something had happened to Sam or Dean."

"Oh, I see how it is. Be nice to the pretty girl, come running for the Muttonheads, but be a dick to your family. Nothing new to me."

"Okay!" Alexandra stepped between them, not wanting anyone to fight in her house, let alone angels. She looked at Castiel. "We need a quick favor. Can you check up on Emma Jones, Julie's mother? We wanna see what connections she had with your boys." She explained. "Can you do that for us?"

Castiel bowed his head. "It'll take some time." He looked at Gabriel. "Time that I doubt any of you have, no matter how hard you try to get it."

Gabriel shrugged. "I can find a way to shake them again."

"No, you can't." was the reply the archangel gets, and once again, he was gone before either of them could even register the comment fully.

"I swear, if he gets any more cryptic-"

"Shut up, Gabriel. At least I got him to help. He might've just left if it was just you asking."

"…Oh, ho ho, you dig my brother, don't you? The ladies always like him best."

"… Wha… Oh God. Just… go away. Go practice falling through the stairs some more."

" That hurts."

"It's about damn time."

* * *

The next morning, Gabriel was pleased once again to find, while Julie took to Sam quite easily, she was uneasy about Dean because 'he looked mean', even if he was 'blue.' The elder Winchester just shrugged it off, claiming it was just typical "kids", and went on with their part of the investigation. When Hannah woke up, it was back to their side, trying to figure out the sigil with books open, the internet up, and Roy on webcam. While they narrowed it down to a few things, meaning that whatever it was marked the coming of a powerful-but-not-overly powerful thing, there were really no more leads. Roy ended up being very little help, being that he kept on accidentally exing out of the webcam window, or hitting too many buttons, or muting himself.

After the third time his window had gone black, even Gabriel had enough. "He's worse than Castiel. The old man needs to learn that 'X' means 'the thing' goes bye-bye."

A moment later, Roy is back, muttering curses at the 'damn technology.'

Hannah smirked. "Uncle Roy, Gabriel called you an old man."

Gabriel shot the girl a look. "Watch it, Smartass. I'll find one way to smack you."

"Ay! There's no way I'm letting you smack anyone! Not to mention back off, the only one who gets to curse her out is me." Alexandra shot back at him.

Roy scowled. "What she said. I may not be able to see you, Boy, but that doesn't mean I can't tune up the traps I have in here so next time you show up you'll get more than a little shock."

Gabriel blinked. "I'm not sure whether to be embarrassed about- the fact that he just called me boy when I'm over ten times his age, or the fact that he just told me his plan."

Alexandra looked at the webcam. "He said bring it, Roy."

"What? No! He looks like the kinda guy who would turn up the shocks a few notches!" Gabriel objected, then shrunk back at Roy's expectant smirk. "Great." He looked at Hannah. "Remind me never to go see your Uncle with you guys again, Twerp."

Hannah grinned. It was just about identical to her sister's. " 'Kay."

Roy sighed. "Last chance to tell me if you guys wanna check up on anything before I turn this contraption off."

Gabriel snorted again. "Seriously, this guy is under fifty. He should know how to work it with no problems."

"You done, Gabriel?" came Roy's reply.

The trio stopped and turned towards the screen, looking stunned.

Roy blinked back at them. "Hey, that was a guess. I judged from the girl's expressions. If you were talkin', that was luck."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "…Next time you're with him bring a bucket of holy water and a lot of anti-possession spells."

"Gabriel!" The girls turned to him.

"What? He reacted too quick!"

The three turned back to Roy's image, and now the man had an expectant look on his face. "See? He said something just now, didn't he? It's not hard to tell."

"Okay, Uncle Roy. We'll talk to you later. Nothing new for you, but if you see anything that you know may interest us, let us know."

"Always do, Sweetheart. Don't let Sir Talksalot get ya down too much."

Alexandra laughed at Gabriel's latest nickname and Gabriel's scoff of annoyance. "We won't. Talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you too."

All three of them are surprised that Roy's window went black and stayed that way that time around. They barely have a moments peace before they heard a small voice behind them.

"Mr. Gable! Miss. Alex! Miss Hannah! I'm booooooooooored!"

Gabriel sighed. "Jerk, Asshole, Sir Talksalot, Gable, what's next?" He turned around. "We need to take turns entertaining the kid. That was the third hour of Hannah Montana. That was supposed to keep her amused for seven hours."

"She's five. She has no idea what's going on." Hannah argued. "Hell, I liked it back a few years, but it did get old fast."

Gabriel snorted. "Why? Because she had the same first name as you? She was awful!"

"How would you know?" Hannah beamed, and the smile only got wider when he sputtered for a few moments.

"I had to pick something from there that I could put the Muttonheads in if they managed to figure out who killed Grissom."

"You were gonna kill Grissom?" Alexandra demanded. "Oh, that's just plain cruel."

"They had no problem turning Horatio into a murderer."

Alexandra shook her head. "Whatever." She looked up when the doorbell rang. "Who's this, now?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Wait for a minute. Don't take any chances when there's some guy going around killing people in a small town. If you hear bitching about you not coming to the door in around ten seconds, it's the Muttonheads."

Alexandra did wait. When no complaining was heard, but the doorbell rang again, Alexandra headed for it, grabbing a steak knife from the block in the corner, just in case. Just because Gabriel was a sarcastic jerk didn't mean he didn't have good points once in a while. She opened the door, holding it open just enough for the opening to span her shoulder width. "Can I help you?"

The blue-eyed, brunette man on the other side of the door smiled warmly. "Hi. Um, this must sound totally horrible and cliché with what's going on lately, but my car broke down, just there." He pointed over his shoulder where a Taurus is, and smoke was coming up from the car's hood. "I was wondering if I could use your house phone? Mine died on the way back from work."

Alexandra's eyebrow went up a little more. She didn't look too convinced.

The man blushed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry."

Gabriel, who had been listening, looked at Hannah. "Bring her the phone." He sidled over to Alexandra, standing behind her. He only had just about an inch of height on her, so it was hard seeing over her shoulder. Once he did, he couldn't help but feel like the man on the other side looked familiar to him. However, he knew he hadn't seen the man before in his life. The guy looked like the perfect mix between the Winchester boys. Maybe that was it. When Hannah came to give Alexandra the phone, his eyes never left the man's. However, he noted there was nothing predatory about the look he gave her when he took the phone. He just offered a kind smile and took it, dialing a number. "Hey, Sean? It's Eddie. The Taurus is acting up again. It broke down on…" He glanced at the street sign a couple of houses down. "Maple Avenue... Ten minutes? Alright, thanks man... Yeah, I know I owe you. See you then." He pressed the 'end' button and handed the phone back to Alexandra. "Thanks again. I'm really sorry about that. Thanks for giving me a chance and not being paranoid." He offered a nervous laugh, which Alexandra returned, though hers was more sarcastic than anything. He nodded after both laughs died. "Alright, well, I won't intrude on you any more. Thanks again. Have a nice day."

Gabriel fought the urge to gag.

With a final nod, the man, Eddie, headed back to his smoking car.

Alexandra shut the door and locked it, confirming the upper lock was locked as well. "Okay, that was strange." She turned, nearly colliding with her sister as the younger Hennessey flicked her wrist, putting water that had been on her fingers onto the phone.

Holy water, Alexandra realized. "Okay, I doubt he would curse the phone, Hann,"

"Never know." Hannah shrugged. "The guy seemed fine, but it was just on the safe side."

Alexandra nodded. "True. Alright…" She looked at the other two. "Back to the books?"

"Back to the books." The other two agreed before turning. They paused, seeing Julie staring up at them expectantly.

Well, back to the books after they found out what they would have to do to keep a kidnapped-for-her-safety girl amused for the time being, anyway.

* * *

Eddie leaned on a tree and waved as a tow truck reading 'Sean's Repairs and Detailing' pulled up. The driver got out, nodded, and went to work hooking up the Taurus to the back of the truck. Once it was done, Sean got back in the truck and motioned for the man to join him. Once Eddie was in, Sean arched an eyebrow. "Well?"

Eddie shrugged. "They were there. Never left, is my guess."

Sean nodded. "And the arch?"

Eddie's hair started to change, as did his height and clothes. When a short man with light brown hair wearing a blue t-shirt and worn jeans had been sitting, now sat a tall, regal looking brunette in a charcoal grey suit. "Right behind her." He smirked.

"The child?"

The smirk faded. "Didn't see her. They might not have found her yet. The change into the poor chap living at the Gellar house took a bit out of me, though. I could've possibly not just sensed her."

Sean grunted. "So what do we do?"

The man shrugged. "Same thing we've been doing- wait until we know they're all there- and then destroy them one by one."

* * *

**A/N: And there's the latest chapter. So, you guys managed to do 3 reviews last chapter... can we make it to four or five? Please? What were your favorite parts/ lines? Throw me a bone, here. Well, even if you don't review, I hoped you liked it. **


	9. I'm Stuck

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Apparently, ask and you shall receive with the whole four to five reviews I asked for, haha. So… can we make it to five reviews a chapter? Anyways, thanks again, and basically the ones who had a comment on what's to come/ what they'd like to see can simply be answered with "it's getting there/ all in good time" **

**A little side note is that in this chapter, italics double as both normal though and thought-speak. Hopefully you'll understand when you read that part. If you don't, just tell me.**

**… I don't own SPN, blah, blah, blah. Enjoy.**

* * *

That night, Gabriel was surprised to find he was honestly tired. It had hit him at two in the morning and he had settled for passing out on the couch opposite Julie. He figured he would try and solve why he was tired in the morning. The archangel found a comfortable spot on the piece of furniture and was just about to let sleep claim him when there was a loud, high pitched shriek. He shot upright, trying to find the source. Once he realized it was Julie screaming, he bolted over to her. "What's wrong, Jules?"

The girl continued screaming, starting to thrash against him when he put his arms around her.

Gabriel noticed she was squeezing her eyes shut. "Julie, it's me! It's Gabriel! You're okay!" He tried to get a better hold on her, which only resulted in him getting a foot to the stomach. He coughed, then looked up when he heard four sets of footsteps coming down the stairs. He just gaped, trying to figure out how to explain what had happened when the other four people in the house showed up. Dean led, followed by Alex and Sam, and Hannah took the end. "I don't know what happened! She was fast asleep then she started screaming."

Alexandra spared a glance at him, acknowledging the comment, then looked at Julie. "Julie, calm down! What's wrong?"

"NO! THEY CAN'T GET ME! DON'T LET THEM!"

Gabriel tightened his grip on the girl. "Julie, it's okay! No one's getting you! You're safe!"

The girl stopped screaming, then sagged against him, letting out a sob. She looped her arms around his that was around her and attempted to get her breath back.

Dean looked over the girl. It looked like she was holding something. What on Earth cold it have been? An invisible stuffed animal? Invisble kitten? Puppy?

Gabriel caught Dean staring at where the girl's hands were and tried to pry himself free. The action only earned another screaming fit.

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Alexandra leaned over Gabriel, putting her hand on the girl's forehead. "Julie, you're okay! Honey, snap out of it!"

The girl let out a high-pitched whimper.

"Alex, move." Gabriel ordered.

Alexandra sent him a questioning look, but moved all the same.

Gabriel leaned over and pressed his own hand to her forehead. He murmured something under his breath, and the girl suddenly relaxed, and with a smaller groan, collapsed against him.

Alexandra made quick work of catching the girl before she hit Gabriel's thigh. Her eyes flashed to him again, then to the Winchesters.

Gabriel noticed Dean sputtering and the younger sibling in both sets just stared awkwardly. He used the situation to his advantage. "I just put her into a dreamless sleep. I figured if I can touch her and she can touch me, maybe some other anti… ghost form stuff could happen and I could use my powers on her. I guess it works." He explained.

Alexandra let out a weak laugh, pulling the girl into her arms.

Dean finally found his voice. "… What the HELL was that about?"

"Shhh! You'll wake her again!" Hannah hissed.

Dean scowled. "Fine. But seriously, what was that about? She doesn't look like the kind that could go harpie in a second!" He jabbed his finger towards Julie. "That was some angelic crap! It needs to stop before this situation gets worse than it already is!"

Sam frowned. "What're we gonna do with her then, Dean? We can't quite just… drop her back at the hospital or doctor's office."

Dean blinked. "We can always prick her finger and check her blood to see if she's really human-"

"DEAN!" Alexandra, Hannah and Sam all objected, while Gabriel said "Over my dead body" only to pause, go "oh" and settle back down.

Dean scoffed. "Well, what else is there to do?"

"How about just leave it at 'a five year old's nightmare'? Wait until the morning and she should be fine." Sam replied.

Alexandra nodded. "Exactly. Anyway, I trust you, but are you boys gonna be okay on your own? I have to take the unhelpful books back to my uncle's place." She pointed over her shoulder at the growing pile of various books in the corner of the room.

The brothers exchanged looks. "Uh… yeah, we're good. Go do what we need to do. We'll call if something goes wrong."

"Alright, then. See you shortly." Alexandra headed for the door, not knowing why she even bothered to hold the door open a couple of moments more than necessary for Gabriel. She knew she had to give up on telling him not to come along by now.

When they were a couple of houses down from Roy's, Alexandra pulled over and put the brakes on. "Oh, no…"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow, then smirked. "What? Should you have brought a weapon?"

"No… just wish I was here a few minutes before _she_ got here."

"'She'?"

"My aunt." Alexandra replied. "Stay here. Try to amuse yourself." She turned around and got the books out of the backseat of the car.

Gabriel watched her. Something about the way she had told him to stay put made him realize it wasn't just the 'don't come 'cause you'll annoy me' thing. There was more to it. "You sure you want me t stay?"

"Positive. Just… don't come in after a few minutes of being bored, either."

"O… kay?" Gabriel blinked, then leaned back.

"Thanks." Alexandra sighed, then got out of the car. She headed up the path to the front door.

Gabriel frowned and ducked down out of instinct gained from past experience as a middle aged redheaded woman came storming out of the house. He surprised himself by letting out a small growl when the redhead met Alexandra halfway and jabbed a finger towards her chest.

"You're just as bad as him, you bitch!"

The archangel glanced at Alexandra, who had stopped in her tracks, even before the woman tossed the insult. What was that about? He sighed, glancing back through the house's window at Roy as the redhead hurried off to her own car and Alexandra slowly headed into the house. He had to admit he felt bad when he saw Roy looked destroyed, even more so when Alexandra came in. He watched her approach Roy, the two exchanged some short words, then she pulled him into a hug. Gabriel looked away after that. He hated watching his own family have depressing or annoying moments, and seeing another family have them was just as uncomfortable. He settled for naming as many angels as he could, listing them from ABC order. He had gotten into the 'D's by the time Alexandra returned, looking rather lost. "You all right?" He asked, after she got back into the car. He knew it was a dumb question, but felt even more so when she closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

"Just… don't… talk. Let me have a few minutes to myself, okay? No questions."

Gabriel put his hands up. "Read you loud and clear."

And so half of the ride was left in uncomfortable silence that even made Gabriel, the starter of awkward silences, squirm. He merely arched an eyebrow when she pulled over to the side of the road, by a bridge. "My family's not quite the happy-go-lucky group we come across as."

"Thought you said you didn't wanna talk about it." Gabriel replied.

"Yeah, well, you weren't asking… very, very loudly."

Gabriel shrugged. "Fair enough. So… what happened? Who paid your uncle a visit?"

"That was my Aunt Felicity… Roy's ex wife." She sighed heavily. "You know, fair's fair. I went digging into your story after getting some facts from you, I might as well tell you the whole damn thing that put them on bad terms." She squared her shoulders. "Five years back, we were trying to take down this… major, no-funny business-all-killing type demon… we… had to pool resources. It was my parents, Roy and Felicity, and then my other aunt Katherine and Uncle Dave. We figured the bigger the group, the better the fight… we were wrong… totally wrong." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "It got really bad at one point, and… we ended up losing one of the kids from each branch of the family. Karen and Dave lost their youngest who wasn't even supposed to be in that fight, Hannah and I lost a brother, and Roy and Felicity lost their son Mark…She sighed and slouched in her chair. "… Fast forward five years, I haven't heard from Dave and Katherine since then, Felicity blames me for Mark's death because he died trying to back up my worthless ass, my parents both had mental breakdowns that they're just starting to recover from now, and Roy's the only one who gives a damn because he feels his son died a hero- died what he would've wanted to be doing." She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and looked down.

Gabriel could just tell she was trying hard and succeeding in holding back tears. What on Earth could he say that? Should he even say anything? She had just dropped that whole thing on him. He just expected a shortened version 'my cousin died saving me in a hunt and she blames me and therefore hates me.' But _no_, she had to throw in a loss from every branch of the family- one being her brother, either quoting her aunt or herself with saying she was a 'worthless ass', parent's breakdown, and Roy being the only one who cared. What to comment on first, if anything, was a big part of that. Hell, could he ever even pile that onto someone as easily as she did?_ 'Oh, hey, Sammy, Deano. You being vessels to Michael and Lucifer and your decisions whether or not you're doing so depend on the survival of this world'_- okay, so he could, but still… seriously? Was he not asking_ that _loudly? "Ummm…"_ Been there, done that with the brother thing'? Nice, Asshole_._ Why don't you just push her off the bridge when you're at it. Laugh? No, that would be horrible… again._

She laughed. "I know. It's a lot to process. I'm sorry I just dumped it all on you like that."

"Yeah. Now it's my turn to ask for a minute to process."

"Granted," She replied with a small chuckle. She put the car back in drive and continued over the bridge, headed back home.

"First of, sorry about your brother… and the rest of the family… uh… you're as far from worthless as you can get, and… you're lucky to have Roy… and by the looks of that back there, he's lucky to have you girls." He hated this sappy crap. He was never any good at it. Granted, he was better than Castiel at it, but the point still stood. He would've cracked a joke to lighten the mood, but he figured it would still have bad timing. "So…"

Alexandra smiled at him. "Wow. You do have a setting other than sarcastic jerk."

"I have my moments." He shrugged. If she cracked a joke, he'd at least make a lame one back. It beat a quiet ride home. "_ I_, unlike my other trickster buddies, know when to shut up."

Alexandra laughed. "You actually have friends who tolerate you?"

Gabriel's own smile faded. "Hey, I'm being nice, here."

She laughed again. "I know, I'm sorry."

"It's how ya cope?"

"Exactly."

The two glanced at each other before laughing again. They reached home and pulled into the driveway. They barely made it out of the car before Dean came storming out, holding Julie. Alexandra arched an eyebrow. "Dean, what is it?" She frowned when Julie looked at Gabriel and looked like she was about to say something. She took the girl from him and switched the direction she was facing, causing enough of a distraction to stop her.

"The kid… this is the first time she's been quiet since you left. She kept having that… nightmare, or whatever. The screaming keeps getting worse, too. I'd say it's angelic, so in my book, if I didn't hand her over, Sammy and my brains were about to explode." Dean replied. "This kid isn't just a normal kid. She's an angel, or a harpie, or… or something." He tossed his hands up. "I tried everything, and she seems to keep quiet around you, so I'm just giving her back."

"Okay then." She nodded, and noted that the girl had actually fallen asleep in the rough minute since Dean had handed her over. "Thanks, then. You guys try to get some sleep… with any luck she's done now."

Sam nodded appreciatively while Dean just grunted and headed back into the house.

Once she was satisfied the boys were gone, Alexandra looked back at Gabriel. "Any theories?"

"Not at all." Gabriel sighed, then leaned forward when he saw Julie open her eyes slowly. He scooted over so he was facing her. "Hey, Sleepyhead. You okay?"

Julie let out a yawn. "Now I am."

"Were you having a nightmare?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah."

Gabriel frowned. If this kid was half angel, it still shouldn't have happened. It was rare that anything with angel blood had a nightmare, unless it was a vision. None of this fit whatsoever. "Well, don't you worry about it, kiddo. Aunt Alex and Uncle Gabe here are gonna work together to keep you safe until we figure out what's happening. The others will help. Got it?"

Julie made a weak thumbs up, then paused. "You promise?"

"Promise." The adults nodded. They made their way back inside the house. Julie returned to the pull out bed and curled up, ready to return to sleep again.

Alexandra sighed. "I don't remember ever wanting to sleep that badly after I had a nightmare at her age."

Gabriel shrugged. "The kid's been through a lot in the last few days… a fire, losing her parents, going to the doctor's, then repeatedly moved around, starting to like her kidnappers."

She swatted through his arms. "Hush, you."

"Aw, you love me already. Admit it." Gabriel beamed.

Alexandra leaned back. "You wish, idiot. Now, I'm gonna go to bed. If she starts screaming, I'll probably hear, but if I don't, just get me."

"Deal. Good night, Bitch."

"Night, Wiseass."

* * *

The next morning:

_Alex, wake… up. Seriously. Now._

Alexandra flinched at the rather loud voice. She groaned and flipped over, tugging the pillow over her head. Now she was hearing Gabriel's voice in her head. Not good.

_Alex!_

Alexandra let out a yelp when she flipped over, but it wasn't at all of her own accord. She squeezed her eyes shut again, figuring it was a dream. She wanted out. " Gabriel, knock it off." She sighed and shifted to a more comfortable position.

_Again with always blaming me, but I swear, this time, it's not me._

"Who did… whatever it is, then?"

_Uh, heh. There's no way of… giving the news to you easily._

Alexandra scoffed. "Really? You being cryptic?" She sat up and opened her eyes, then frowned, realizing he was nowhere to be seen. "What the… where are you? Wait a sec, you learned to climb the stairs?"

_Not exactly._

"Gabriel, I'm already impatient. Just spit it out."

_Uh..._

"Gabriel!"

_Well..._

"GABRIEL!"

_I think I'm inside you, and no, there's no.. clean way of saying that. At least in my book._

Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Gabriel, that's not funny. Especially in this situation. Now come out from wherever you're hiding."

_I'm not joking, Xanie. I really think I'm stuck in you._

"Ha ha."

_Fine then. Don't ya think it's weird I didn't have some big entrance when I came in if I learned how to climb the stairs? Huh? And what about my voice, huh" Haven't you noticed it's not coming from around you as opposed to… in your head, right between your ears?_

Alexandra froze, considering what he said, then it all seemed to sink in. She shot up into a sitting position. "What?"

_Yep. _

Alexandra got up, realizing that now his voice did seem to come from her head as opposed to around the room or outside. She headed outside, then looked around again. "Gabriel?"

_You're not gonna find me. I'm telling you, I'm seeing what you're seeing right now._

Alexandra ignored the comment, then raised her head when she saw Hannah come out of her room. There was one way of checking his story. "Hey, have you seen-" She shut up when Sam came out of the guest room.

The man scratched his head. "Sorry, who'd you call for? I coulda sworn you said…"

Alexandra stood there gaping for a moment. "Uh., no, sorry. I was… checking if Hannah's friend Ariel was coming."

_Ariel? Really? She have a friend Sebastian, too?_

Alexandra shook her head, trying to rid the extra voice in her head. _  
_

Sam blinked, then yawned. " 'Kay then." He retreated back into his room.

Hannah stayed put and waited expectantly. Alexandra motioned for her to come over. "Have you seen Gabriel anywhere?" She muttered.

Hannah blinked. "Uh, no. I fell asleep when he was still downstairs. Why?"

_Tell her. No sense in hiding it from her if we're gonna see her more often._

"Not funny, Gabriel."

Hannah blinked. "Huh? Wait a sec… your eyes… since when were they… that… greenish… brown… what _is_ that color? Did you get contacts?"

_Yep. I'm in you. That would be my color. Yours are blue, aren't they? _

"Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

_Again? That's your favorite phrase, isn't it?_

"Gabriel!" Alexandra hissed.

Hanna arched an eyebrow. "Alex, uh… are you feeling okay?"

"No, no I'm not, because I woke up with Gabriel's voice in my head, and I think it's more than his Goddamn voice, because he's M.I.A at the moment and he's insisting in my head that he's… inside me." Wow. Gabriel was right. It did sound dirtier than intended.

Hannah stared, then burst out laughing.

With a glance at Sam and Dean's door, Alexandra nodded, at her own bedroom door, then went to push Hannah lightly into the room, only to send her flying into the room. "Oh geez. Hannah?"

_Sorry. My fault. I guess my powers are interfering with your lack thereof, huh?_

"Well then, you better be able to bring people back from the dead even if you were half dead before, because I think we might've just killed my sister."

_Oh, now it's we and not me, huh?_

"Oh, no, you're right. You might've killed my sister with your stupid super-angel strength!"

_Would you relax? Take a load off._

"Relax? RELAX? No, Gabriel, I will not relax because both you and I are in my body right now and you just made me launch my sister ten feet into a hardwood floor!" She hissed, and she started to wonder why the Winchesters hadn't come back out yet to investigate the racket- or at least heard the three or four times she had said Gabriel's name. Part of her wanted them to come out, set to interrogate her, because she was ready to not seem like some escapee from the psyche ward. She went to head into her room, only to stumble and catch herself before she hit the ground, too. She assumed Gabriel had part control of her body now, as well. "Let me get to my sister, damn it!"

_No. Let's just talk about this for a second… one on one… or… one by itself, or… whatever._

"My sister might be dead and you're worried about working this whole thing out first? Seriously. No wonder everyone hates you."

_… Fine._

"Thank you." Alexandra got up, and this time, she seemed to have complete control, since she was able to make it over to her sister. "Hannah? Please, please, please-"

Hannah swatted her hand away. " M' okay. What the Hell was that?"

"Gabriel," Alexandra deadpanned.

Hannah looked even more confused now, if that was even possible. "You mean it's not some prank that you guys decided to pull after you randomly decided a truce?" The girl hid a shudder at the glare she received. It really did seem like it was getting glared at by two people. "Okay, then. Just don't… look at me like that. Okay, how to we fix this… this thing added to the giant list of can-and-will-go-wrong things we have to deal with? How far is it up on the list?"

"Depends how long it takes before he makes me want to put a bullet in my head." Alexandra replied.

_Hey!_ "Hey!" It actually took a moment for Alexandra to realize when Gabriel thought it, or said it, or whatever the Hell he did, she said it as well.

Hannah merely blinked again. "… I really wish I had class today, 'cause this is getting too weird by now."

"Oooh, excuse me? You're not the one with the goddamn sexed-crazed angel in a body with the opposite gender of his current vessel!"

_First off, I'm not sexed craze. I just like it. Second, you think it's easy being in you, miss tight-ass… literally._

Before Alexandra could even react or try and get control first, he had swatted her behind. "Oh, Hell no!"

Hannah's eye twitched. This was too much. Like she said, there were too many things on the list of things that went wrong and seemed unfixable, and this was definitely close to the top of the list, now. Especially after that seemingly random action, being that it was now burned into her mind. "I'm gonna leave you guys alone now. Bye!"

"No, Hannah!"

_Nice._

Hey, you're the one that just spanked me in front of her."

_Uh, no, that wasn't spanking, Hot Stuff. Not anywhere near it. And besides, it's our ass now, isn't it? At least for now?_

"No, and even if it was, you will not try to spank me, or swat me, or whatever you consider it when we have to deal with this."

_Don't tempt me. _

"…I was so wrong when I assumed you weren't a pervert. I take back what I said the other day."

_And we were actually getting somewhere a couple of hours ago. _

"Yeah, well that was when we were in two different bodies and I wasn't considering all the ways this could go wrong."

_Aw, come on. It's not that bad._

"Oh? You go around with you in your head."

_…I did._

"…Shut up, Gabriel. Let's go try and figure out how to get this fixed before we go on with anything else."

* * *

**A/N: Oh, no! Whodunnit this time? Haha. Anyways, what did you think? Favorite lines? Scenes? Theories on what's gonna happen. (points to review option) You know you wanna. **


	10. Living Inside My Head

**A/N: Merry Late Christmas/ day after Christmas for some who celebrate it. Hope you enjoy the chap. Don't forget to tell me what you thought. **

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"Ow! Okay, Gabriel, stop trying to walk! Let me handle the physical stuff!" Alexandra growled, stumbling and hitting the hallway wall for the sixth time in the past five minutes. Se had already reached her limit with the entire situation. She wanted to figure out a reason how to get Gabriel out of her and live her own life.

_What, so you can hurt yourself more?_

"No, so you can stop upping my chances of breaking my neck." Alexandra shot back.

_Ugh. You're just fishing for reasons to dislike me, now. Whatever, Sweet Cheeks. You have a deal. I won't try to control anything, even if I was just trying to help you out._

"No, you're not, Gabriel. Stop lying." Alexandra mumbled, heading into the living room. She pulled the books whose pages were facing out down, so she could see the symbols on the corner. "Where are you…?"

_Whatcha lookin' for? How to get us outta this mess?_

"Bingo."

_Mm hm._

Alexandra scoffed when her free hand slapped the one reaching for one of the books, then the slapping hand picked up the book a couple of volumes down.

_There ya go._

"…Thanks. I guess." She arched an eyebrow, then flipped the book over in order to read what the book contained. Sure enough, it had to do with various possession spells.

_You guess? Be still my heart. All you modern girls, so ungrateful._

"Oh, stop." Alexandra muttered.

"Stop what?"

Alexandra muffled a yelp and turned around at the new voice. "Dean!" She breathed, seeing him standing on the landing of the stairs. Great. "Uh, sorry. Did I wake you?" Gabriel, why didn't you say something?

_Oooooh, so now you want my help?_

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, about… five… crashes ago…" He climbed down the last two stairs. "Who were you talking to just now?" He laughed. "I coulda sworn you said 'Gabriel' a minute ago…" He laughed sarcastically. "You know, Sam and I dealt with the archangel a while back, as you heard. It's kinda funny, the timing and similiarities between you two… the little bastard was practically bipolar… had a knack for changing into different people. We didn't even catch on for a while."

Alexandra stared at him, then laughed nervously. Gabriel was completely silent, possibly speechless as well, and that was the most worrisome fact for her. "Huh? Oh, Gabriel? Ha, I was just sorting through some old books and one fell- the author's Leon Gabriel." She tried to hide her panic, then pulled out a book by the mentioned author. She hoped that the guy was still alive so she could shake his hand if Dean bought that horrible excuse. At least it was good luck that came to her for once.

_… That excuse was worse than the one I used when Apollo caught me checking out Artemis_. Gabriel chimed in, just increasing her paranoia.

Alexandra offered a wider smile to Dean and pointed at the author's name, trying to back herself up. Dean still didn't look convinced. She managed a true-sounding dismissive smile, while still trying to dig for excuses in her mind._ Okay, help time. If you really wanna help me, make me say something that'll make him back off._ She pleaded.

_Well, you already brought him to a place that has pie, and flashing him would just weird him out, so I'm outta ideas. You're on your own. You said you didn't want my help before, either, so…_

_Gabriel! _Alexandra glanced back at Dean when she saw him shift uncomfortably. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit._

Dean crossed his arms over his chest, then sat on the back of the couch.. "Look, Alex… or Gabriel, I can appreciate the whole being-a-hunter-drove-me-insane thing or ploy, whichever it is. I've been there, done that… psyche ward and all… Sammy, too, but uh…" He chuckled. "Last time, staying with fellow hunters-gone-crazy didn't quite work out, so… " He shrugged. "And if that's Gabriel in there… either get outta the girl or change back, because this isn't funny. I don't know how you're here, alive, but I don't like it either way."

Alexandra laughed. "Dean, seriously, it's just me. No archangel. If I could prove it to you, I would. I promise." She went over to him and gave him a pat on the cheek, that judging by the disgusted feeling she felt, Gabriel wasn't big on getting dragged into doing the action. Even Dean looked like he was torn between being amused or disturbed. She headed back into the kitchen. "Is Sam up yet? You guys want breakfast? I have cereal and bread for toast."

_He'll never be suspicious now._

Alexandra rolled her eyes, and she figured it was a mix of his sarcasm and her reaction to it. Why don't you want him to know you're here, anyway, even if Castiel said it might be good that they don't know?

_Because if they knew, and they're here helping you kick whatever's here's ass, and in doing so, possibly help get me back to normal, they're not gonna trust you. Like you've heard, the Muttonheads and I have a history… and I'm probably one of the biggest assholes they've dealt with, so if they're helping you, that means they're helping me._

Dean finally entered the room. "Look, I'll believe you… at the moment. We'll still help you out, but like I said, we've had run ins with hunters gone crazy before. We'd prefer it if we didn't wake up to a pretty little thing like you holding a knife over us, huh?"

_… Is he honestly flirting with you? I might just die again on the spot._

_Shut up._ She smiled and shook her head. "Right, breakfast- well, lunch, now. Uh, bread's in the drawer over there, cold cuts and all the other junk is in the fridge, perfectly visible, umm…" She winced. Having an angel in your head and knowing full well that keeping that a secret wasn't doing many positive things for any of her brain functions.

"Aunt Alex!"

Alexandra sighed. So now Julie was up. Just what she needed. "In the kitchen, Jules!"

Julie came skipping into the room. She stopped in the middle, blinked then frowned at Dean, then looked at Alexandra. She looked around again. "Where's Uncle Gabel?"

Alexandra visibly flinched. Sure, she said 'Gabel', but that was still close enough, and naturally, the kid had to have perfect timing. The smirk that grew on the man's face was enough to tell her she had lost… miserably. "Uh… I don't know, hon. Go back into the living room and wait for him. He'll show up."

The girl huffed, then left.

Dean chuckled, looked down, and crossed his arms. "Secret foiled by a four year old-"

"I'm five!" Julie objected, poking her head back into the room briefly.

"Five year old, whatever. That must suck."

Alexandra sighed. "Look, Dean. I swear, I'm Alexandra Hennessey… the Gabriel thing..."

_Alex! _It was the first time she had heard Gabriel say something in half anger, half warning.

She flinched, knowing that she couldn't lie to the Winchesters- not when they had saved her twice in the last couple of days. "It's… it's complicated."

_Damn it, Alex! I told you they won't go for it, now!_

Dean frowned. "Talk to me. Nothing's too complicated in the dead people category for us."

Alexandra shrugged. "Can we wait for Sam?"

Dean considered the offer. "I take it's not a fun situation, then."

Alexandra snorted. "It's only been going on for a day, but you have Gabriel talking to you in your own goddamn head and trying to control your movements."

Dean snorted, then stopped almost immediately. "Wait- one day? He's only been back one day? You made it sound like he's been here longer."

"He has." Alexandra replied, then was certain that the headache that was suddenly starting was Gabriel's doing. "You guys can't see him because just my sister, angels, Julie here and I can see him."

Dean blinked. "…Yeah, let's wait for Sam." He paused. "If Gabriel's really in there… what was his favorite nickname for us?"

"Muttonheads." Gabriel replied for her, through her, as well. "Muttonheads, chuckleheads, idiots, kiddos, bringers of the apocalypse, Bert and Ernie, Shall I go on?"

Dean looked like he wasn't sure whether to keep staring in disbelief or find holy water and toss it on her. He cleared his throat and sat down. "You have beer anywhere? Please tell me you're not straightedge."

"What would you Winchesters do without beer to cope?" Gabriel spoke again, and it came out more bitter than he had meant it.

"Gabriel!" Alexandra hissed, then facepalmed, realizing she said it out loud. She really did sound insane.

Dean looked even more confused at that. "Wait, so now you're arguing with… I really need that beer- like, now."

Alexandra shook her head and waited to make sure Gabriel wasn't set on responding again. "Just… we'll talk when Sam gets up. Deal?" She nodded at the fridge. "Left side, third shelf down., by the way."

Next to the time that they had scrambled to help her fight the demon that attacked her, she had never seen Dean move so fast as he bolted for the fridge. The woman thought she would've been lucky and Sam would've still been sleeping for an hour or so, but luck ran out on her. A few minutes afterwards, when Hannah came inside from wherever she had gone, Sam woke up and came down the stairs.

Upon seeing Dean and the sisters in the kitchen, staring each other down, and feeling the tension, Sam wasn't sure whether or not he even wanted to come in. "…Guys? What's happening?"

Dean clapped his hands. "Ah, typical stuff, Sammy. Gabriel's back, alive and well and currently trapped inside Alex, here."

Alexandra flinched. "You couldn't have let it go slowly?" She asked.

Like you should talk with that grand piano you dumped on my head yesterday.

Alexandra rolled her eyes. Gabriel, I have no problem repeating what I said earlier- I will punch myself in the face just to hit you. She turned her attention back to Sam, who looked more stunned than Dean had. "How much time do you need to process?"

Sam, who had simply been absorbing the news slowly in the past few moments. He looked at her and blinked a few times. He finally seemed to find his voice. "…How?"

Alexandra sighed. Well, that was better than the interrogation. "My sister got cut off from a spell when she and her friends were messing around with one of my family's old spell books and a oiji board. I walked in on her and stepped in, then I head downstairs and bam, Gabriel's standing in my living room… though… in… I guess you could say ghost form, and apparently the way it happened, only people who were in the house can see it… and angels… and half angels… and possibly demons." She mentally checked through the list, seeing if she was leaving any possibilities out.

Sam narrowed his eyes, then looked at Hannah. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but how can a… nineteen year old who doesn't seem like she's that into the whole magic-aspect of hunting bring back an archangel from the dead?"

Alexandra shrugged. She didn't like Gabriel's second silence at all. "We tried to figure that out All of us did- my uncle, too. He said he'd call a couple of my cousins to see if they know anything, like some messed up… power amplifier, for lack of a better term" She sighed. "Dean, you had the right idea. I need alcohol now."

Uh, no. You dropped us into this mess, you're not getting liquored up to delay it.

"Ah, and Gabriel's back, now." Alexandra looked at her companions. She wasn't surprised to see the Winchesters were still staring at her like she was insane. "Ask me something only Gabriel would know." She offered.

Dean frowned. "But that could just mean you're Gabriel in some new chick's body."

Alexandra paused. "I thought you said you would believe me-"

"Well, now I'm not so sure." Dean shrugged.

Alexandra sighed. "Fine. Hannah, get a few of the photo albums. You can check my answers through her."

Sam looked at Dean and shrugged. The younger sibling turned back to Alexandra. "Three ways Gabriel killed Dean."

Alexandra waited for Gabriel to respond, but nothing came. _Gabriel, they sound like they're gonna be okay with it. They're just double checking that this isn't some prank._

_I still don't like it._

She rolled her eyes. _Well, now we don't have much choice. They're good guys- smart and strong, too. They'll help in the long run. You know that._

_I don't even care anymore. This is on you if it bites us in the ass._ "Dropped a desk on him, hit him with a car, Electrocuted," He announced through her. "I personally like the desk most out of those.

The brothers raised their eyebrows, but sighed and made an approving grunt.

When Hannah came back with the photo album, Dean took it and opened it, pointing to a random picture. "Name and ages of the kids in that picture, and what they were doing."

"That's me on the left, age ten, my cousin Mark, five, and Mark's little brother Grant, three. That looks like my Uncle Roy's birthday party- his twenty fifth."

Dean looked at Hannah, who nodded. "Okay, Gabriel. Uh, name of your bitch of an ex we ran into…" His confident smirk faded. "…The day… you.. Uh, died."

"Kali, asshole." Gabriel snapped. He had a sinking feeling the boys already believed her and were just screwing with the both of them, now.

Alexandra was pleased to find that Gabriel including 'asshole' in the response seemed to secure the answer as the right one. She surprised herself by finding she was suddenly not-so-disturbed at the fact that the arch had found a way to talk through her and kept up with it, too.

Dean passed the book to Sam and Sam flipped to another page, recognizing the face from somewhere. He shrugged off the feeling that he knew the man, then tapped the picture, which turned out to be one of Roy holding a baby. "Best memory of this guy that you guys would share?"

Alexandra shrugged. "That could easily debatable, but… when he stuck by us when our lives all went to Hell."

Dean flinched. There was too much pain in her eyes for it to be false. He believed her story right then. He didn't want to dwell on memories that clearly had a story. He sighed. "One last one for the road, then. Gabriel, what was the name of the porno that you left us that gave us tips on stuffing Lucifer back in his cage?"

Alexandra's eyes widened. "The what and who?"

_Heh, right, about that. It's a story for another time, Sweet Cheeks. _"Casa Erotica."

As soon as he said it, she euphoniously repeated it, more to herself than the others in the room. "Casa Er… Oh God." Alexandra ran a hand down her face in exasperation.

Dean nodded. "Good enough. Alright, we'll buy it, for now.. again." He leaned back. "So… how'd he end up… in you?" He snorted at the last bit.

Alexandra shook her head. "Please don't. He's already had a field day with all the ways you can twist that. Anyway, I have no idea. I went to bed the other night, and then I woke up and he was talking inside my head, telling me to get up and try to figure this out."

Dean let out another snort. "Still sitting back and enjoying watching shit go down, Gabe? You haven't changed."

Alexandra could sense Gabriel was ready to charge Sam, so when she felt her right leg start to raise, she grabbed the counter. _Gabriel, no!_

_I told you I don't like this, damn it. See? I told you they hate me. This isn't gonna work. _Again, the sound of him irritated was alien.

_You don't know that._

_Believe me, Sister. I do._

_Oh, bite me._ Alexandra barely had time to let out an alarmed yelp before part of her wrist was literally in her mouth and she was biting down. She growled and lowered her arm. _Not funny._

_It kinda is. _A snicker followed, and she hated to say it, but she had never been so happy to hear him laugh as opposed to sound annoyed.

_I hate you. _She looked at Dean, who was chuckling now. "What?"

Dean tilted his head. "You two arguing, I take? Someone say 'bite me'?"

"Exactly." She sighed. "I'm a little worried that you guys are taking this so well."

Sam shrugged. "We're kinda used to anything weird going on, so we just take it as it comes."

"So I've heard." Alexandra replied.

Sam smiled. "So… why'd you not tell us in the beginning?"

Alexandra sighed. "Gabriel didn't want me to. He was worried being back wouldn't be well received."

_Way to make me sound like a coward._

_I'm sorry I'm telling them the truth, idiot._

Dean shrugged. "He…" He paused, considering the sentence. "You died for us, Gabe. Can't go wrong after that… and now we don't have to worry about Lucifer, so you can't really mess with us over that, so…why the Hell not go for it? Cas could use another angel friend back if we can get you back to norm- Cas!" Dean looked at Alexandra. "You weren't talking to yourself and Cas wasn't just talking to you the day after we met, was he?"

"Nope." Alexandra nodded.

Dean nodded slowly. "And Cas didn't tell us about you and Gabriel, either… why?"

"Gabriel asked him not to." Alexandra replied. "Castiel seems like the kind of guy who just goes with the flow, so I guess he just went with it and listened to Gabriel without a hitch."

Dean chuckled again. "At least someone does,"

"Screw you, very much, Deano." Gabriel snapped through her. He was already sick of everything.

Dean winked. "Back at ya, Gabe-o."

Alexandra laughed. "Good, you catch on."

Dean shrugged. "Not that hard. Every insult aimed at us is him, and you're the nice girl stuck in the middle of everything, trying to hold it all together."

"And you catch on well." Alexandra laughed again.

_…Go over to the sink. I need to vomit a little after that comment._

"Aunt Alex! He's not coming!"

Alexandra flinched when Julie came into the room. Okay, so she could explain the whole thing easily to Sam and Dean, but how could she explain it to a five year old? She leaned down. You're helping me with this one, by the way.

_I'm as stumped as you, Sweetheart. Good luck._

_But- _She sighed when another person quite literally popped up into the room. "Castiel, you don't happen to warn people when you show up, do you? It would be nice if you could warn me-"

"No time. They're here." Castiel replied.

"Who's here?" Alexandra blinked.

"The people after you. Where is…" He paused, looking at Sam and Dean. "…he?"

"They know, and he's actually… in here." She tapped her forehead. "Dunno what happened, but he's stuck inside my head, or inside me and general, and-"

"I will see what can be done about that. In the meantime." He pressed two fingers to Alexandra's forehead, and the two fingers on his opposite hand to Julie's forehead. A moment later, they were all in what looked like an old beaten down barn. "Where are we?"

"A farm a couple of hours from your home. It will be safe here for now. Wait here." In a blink of an eye, he was gone, then reappeared with Hannah.

Hannah yelped and stumbled back. "That's worse the second time around!"

_I second that, and I'm in your head_. Gabriel agreed.

_Yeah, twice the headache is coming on. Now shush._ Alexandra sighed, turning her attention back to Castiel. "If you can't tell us who's after us, can you tell us how long we need to… stay in this… safe house, I guess you could call it?"

"A while. I cannot exactly say how long. Just enough to size up how much danger this new power holds."

"I thought you figured that out-" She stopped when the angel disappeared. "Aaaand, he's gone again."

_Mm hm. _Gabriel agreed. _We're more screwed than usual. Won't this be fun?_


	11. Tell Me Everything is Gonna Be All Right

**A/N: Don't own SPN, blah blah blah, been here, done this, moving on. **

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Alexandra let out a yelp and bolted back when the faucet she had been standing over spurted out brown water for the third time. "Jesus! This is supposed to be a safe house? This crap can kill us all quicker than whoever might be after us!" She huffed and turned off the water, turning it on again to attempt to let it run. It still remained an odd brown. She sighed and stepped away, staring at the stream. This was proving harder than when she attempted to not look anywhere but straight ahead at the wall when she changed. She wasn't giving the archangel the chance to see her half naked. No sir. Who thought rusty water would ever be seen as that obnoxious?

Naturally, Gabriel had a comeback. _Being that whoever is after us might be a little more powerful than rusty water, I'd doubt-_

"… I think now I'm pretty sure after this 'shut up', fifty percent of what I've ever said to you is that phrase."

_Well, I appreciate the other fifty percent._

Alexandra laughed and rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Now, how the Hell are we gonna fix… this, and everything else, when we're stuck in the middle of nowhere?" She pushed back and turned around, staring at the floorboards. The boards could break right out from under her and she felt she wouldn't have cared. It was just another added negative into her Hell Week so far.

_Beats me. I think I'd worry more about the water and food situation then me stuck in you, huh?_

"True."

"Guys! There is literally no service or internet out here! If something goes down, then how are we gonna call for help?" Hannah called up from the floor below them. The water and food situation was completely lacking on both floors. The place was starting to seem more like a safehouse for termites and vermin as opposed to people.

"My brother's an angel, kiddo!"

"… Not funny, Lex. I wish Nate was an angel."

"That was Gabriel, hon!" Alexandra called back. "He's ignoring the whole 'I'm in control and he sits quietly and waits for us to fix this' thing."

_You make it impossible, and I wanted to save you from being the biggest asshole of the night._

"What's with you and that mouth, huh?"

_Force of habit and we're all adults here, so why the Hell not mouth off?_

Alexandra rolled her eyes.

_I felt that. _Gabriel countered.

"Screw you!" Alexandra scoffed.

_Find a bed, then._

"Oh, bite me- NO!" She grabbed her hand before he could come up. He wasn't going to get away with that a second time, even if they were alone so it wouldn't look as odd as it did before.

_Come on, you're gonna need some new material if we're gonna be stuck like this for a while until Cassie thinks we're outta danger._ Gabriel snickered, and stopped when she started to as well from his action. The snicker didn't work out too well for her. _Relax, it'll be fine. You may not wanna admit it, but I will. You and I are a good team. We'll get it. _

"No, it'll not be fine! We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way of knowing what's going on back home or in the goddamn world, and no backup! Even you said we were screwed before!" Alexandra waved her arms and turned back around, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Well, not quite."

Alexandra froze at the new voice in the room. How many times were complete strangers going to pop up now? She kept her eyes closed, trying to visualize the area around her for any weapon. Gabriel?

_If you let me at the faucet, I can break it so you can use it to hit him and that's two birds with one stone_. Gabriel offered quickly.

"Alex? What's wrong, Love? Not happy to hear me, let alone see me?"

Alexandra stopped again. I know that voice. Her hand dropped, and sure enough, when she glanced up, a familiar face was looking back at hers. "What's with people just popping up whenever they feel like it? It's really starting to annoy." She turned. "And you should know how hard that is, Hael."

_…Wait, Hael, as in the angel, Hael? So I'm not the only angel you've dealt with?_ Gabriel asked.

The white-haired angel across from them smiled, and his vessel's blue eyes sparkled in a way that would make one wonder how long the angel had used the vessel and how well the angel knew the man. "There's my goddaughter's smile. Good. You are happy to see me."

_Goddaughter? How is that possible? Was this guy Castiel to your dad's Dean?_

_Basically._ "Hael!" Alexandra launched herself at the angel, hugging him tightly. She eased up as much as she could, remembering that two people's strength in one didn't work out too well.

The angel smiled softly and pulled away from her. "Ah, yes. Still the beauty I remember. Let me have a look at you." He looked her up and down, and if anyone missed the fatherly affection in his eyes the first time around, they would have caught it now. He sighed. "It's been far too long. My brother, Castiel, sent word to some of us that you were in trouble. I couldn't let my goddaughter be in trouble, could I?"

"I would hope not." Alexandra replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

_Okay, Alex. Talk to me, think to me, whatever. How do you know this guy- this… brother of mine?_

Hael frowned. "Hold on… there's something…" His frowned deepened. "Wait a minute…"

_Oh, great. He's onto us. This'll be good. _Alexandra went to object and explain the whole ordeal to her family friend, only to let out a yelp when an invisible force knocked her into the opposite wall. Having two people sharing one body ended up leading to twice the disorientation. One she looked back at Hael, his soft smile was gone, replaced by a scowl.

The angel started advancing. "I'm going to give you one warning, because I am not that cruel of a man. You have ten seconds to get out of my goddaughter's body, or you feel my wrath, and if you don't know, an angel's wrath is hardly something you'd care to experience."

While Gabriel merely started babbling, Alexandra held her hands out. "Hold on, Hael! Really, it's me! I swear to God- bad example, sorry, but... it's me, it's just… I ran into an angel recently and… well, yesterday I woke up with him in my head- literally."

"ALEX? GABRIEL?" Hannah came charging up the stairs, having heard the crash from the first floor. She started open mouthed at her sister crumpled on the ground, the crack in the thin drywall of the wall, then the familiar face of the angel that had been a family friend since she was a child. "What the HELL?"

Hael frowned. "Hold on- did I hear that right- Gabriel?" He turned back to his goddaughter. "…No! _The_ Gabriel? You're stuck with the archangel in your head?"

"Long story…" Alexandra pushed herself upright on the wall. "You know you can trust me. You'd sense it if something was wrong or I was possessed by a demon or something. Gabriel isn't using me as a vessel… well, I guess he kind of is-"

_Hey! If he finds a way to rip me out of you and smites me just for your word slip, I'm haunting you. Gabriel honestly sounded worried, now. I've met this guy once or twice before, and he worries me. He's bipolar, I tell you. Bipolar!_

_Haunting me won't get you far being that you're already doing it. Now shut it so I can talk to him._ Alexandra sighed. "Look, Hael, my point is that there's no harm coming to me. Just relax." She pointed at her head. "You know, Castiel took a look to check my story. You wanna do it? Go."

Hael sighed. "No. That was proof enough. You've always been paranoid, 'specially after the accident. I believe you." He turned his attention to Hannah. "Hello, Love. Everything's under control."

Hannah whimpered and forced out a sarcastic laugh. She had a feeling she had walked in during the wrong moment. There was no way she could get the whole story, now. "Really…?" She looked at the other two, who didn't look like they were going to give up information any time soon. "… I'm gonna go check on Julie now."

Hael nodded, then looked at Alexandra again. "Still, honestly... Gabriel? As in one of my commanders?"

_Lemme handle this one, Xanie. It's only fair, _Gabriel offered, sounding more smug than eager-to-please.

Alexandra could almost see the smirk on his face, and she prayed it wasn't coming through on hers. _I respect him, Gabriel. Don't go doing anything stupid. He's family, as far as I'm concerned._

_Babe, I've heard it all from the Winchesters about Castiel._ "Hey, Gramps. I'm taking over your goddaughter for a few seconds." He ignored Alexandra's protests. _Hey, you just let me take over. You lose this time._ "Yeah, I'm the archangel Gabriel. It's Hannah's fault, she messed around with stuff she shouldn't have, and here I am, well, I didn't start off here in our girl, but outside with her… until yesterday."

Hael seemed to take the information in strides. "Well then, forgive me, sir," He bowed his head, and Gabriel would've been lying if he denied thinking that wasn't pretty awesome.

"It's okay… Hael, was it? Sorry, I've been gone so long I lose track of who's up there." His shrug didn't come off as passive as it did when it was Alexandra's shoulders that were doing the shrugging.

Hael looked down. "Yes, well, I can imagine."

Gabriel blinked. _What was that supposed to mean? _"Oh?"

Hael started to pace. "Fallens usually end up losing track of their origins. Sad, to say the very least. Not to mention in extremely bad taste."

Gabriel snorted. Well, at least her snort came out with a little more sarcasm than his own. "Little two faced, don't you think? Being all respectful then taking a cheap shot?" He tuned out Alexandra objecting all over again.

"Doesn't matter, as far as I'm concerned." The angel straightened out his tan blazer. "Now, feel free to tell me what you've done to get yourself into this mess."

"We're not sure. Like Xanie-"

"You're not actually callin' 'er that, are you? She hates that nickname. An old roommate of 'ers tried using that name, and she ended up being locked out of her dorm at random intervals since Alex kept changing the locks."

Gabriel snorted again. Girl after his own heart. Like he said, they made a good team. "So I've heard. Anyway, like_ Xanie_ said, we kind of… woke up like this." He motioned downward. "No idea how we got here, and we were trying to work out how to fix it. Next thing we knew, good ole' Castiel came up, going on about us being in danger, zapped us here, now here you are."

Hael arched an eyebrow, looked behind him, and waved his hand. A small armchair appeared, and he sat down on it. "Go on."

Gabriel shrugged. "Not much more to the story, bud. You think you can help us with this?" He pointed from head to toe again. "Castiel would, but the poor little guy's up to his neck in ass kicking."

Hael leaned forward. "I can't say I know the exact reason why you two are like this…"

"But…?" Gabriel rocked from heel to toe.

Hael shrugged. "In my… very, very little experience with these things, a... combination like this only comes from another incident, I guess like your…" Hael paused, then looked guilty for a moment. "Ressurection." He sighed, pressing his fingertips together. "But it's more… easily accessible. Hannah could not have done this."

"Who could've?" Gabriel asked.

"Someone totally unaware. Your situation never happens to people with experience who are completely aware of the fact that they're strong enough to do it. They just need a wish and very little experience in the… magical world, if you will."

Gabriel blinked and leaned forward as well. "Any way you can dumb that down, Jeeves?"

Hael glared, but sighed. "An inexperienced witch, a… toddler reading a spell book its idiot parents left out, the child of a hunter or something else coming into odd powers-"

"Julie!"

Hael frowned at the name, being that it sounded like two voices had said it. "Who? And can I speak with Alexandra again, please?" He waited when she was quiet for a moment, then looked plain angry.

Alexandra shook her head. Switching who had control was still an awkward task. "Okay, you have me back. Now, Julie is the girl we saved from the hospital back home… the town's being overrun by demons at the moment, and I think they were trying to get her for some reason… she's obviously more than just an unlucky victim to the fire during this whole thing, but…" she trailed off. "Hey, Hannah, can you bring Julie up here?" she called.

"Yeah, gimme a minute!" Hannah replied.

Alexandra nodded, then looked at Hael. "She's five. You think she'd even be aware that she did it?"

Hael frowned. "Depends on the child, really. What's so special about this one?"

"She's half human, half angel." Alexandra replied.

Hael raised his eyebrows. "And your man Gabriel is alright with that?" He saw something flash in Alexandra's eyes, and figured that was Gabriel reacting- it looked like he was getting quite a negative response from the arch.

Alexandra flinched. "He's not happy about what he did way back when. I think the girl's his saving grace, no pun intended."

Hael nodded, then glanced over his shoulder when Hannah came up the stairs with Julie in tow. He smiled at the girl. "Well, hello there, little one."

Julie offered a smile. "Hi!"

Alexandra laughed. The kid seemed to like everyone but Dean. She was curious why that was, but the reason could wait. "Julie, we need to talk, hon."

Julie blinked. "Am I in trouble?"

_Not yet, kiddo,_ Gabriel deadpanned.

"Gabriel, stop!" Alexandra hissed.

Julie tilted her head. "Huh?"

Alexandra leaned down. "Julie, I think you did… something to Gabriel and I… this may sound really weird, but.. He's kinda stuck in me right now, and… my friend here says that you might've done it… not on purpose, though."

Julie blinked. "I knew that."

Alexandra wasn't quite sure how to handle that response, and judging by the complaining turned to sputtering in the back of her head, Gabriel didn't either. "You did?"

Julie huffed. "How else would you guys stop fighting?"

"Huh?"

… You know, regret can go shrivel up and die. This kid is five and she's giving us riddles. I wanna smite her!

Says the guy with the maturity of a kid her age. Not helping. Alexandra sighed and turned her attention back to Julie. "Talk to me. What do you mean by that?"

Julie shrugged. "Daddy always put his concents in mom when they argued. It helped a lot."

Concents? Did she mean conscious? It made sense that way. "How did you know how to do it?"

"He taught me." Julie replied.

_Her dad's a nutcase. I wonder if I ever met this guy. She's five and she's getting angel training? Does he want another apocalypse? G_abriel scoffed.

Alexandra hated to admit it, but the archangel had a point there. _Uh huh, but how would we handle that, you wanna smite him, too?_

_Pft, yeah. I might as well start a list. First Julie's dad, then Julie, then insert at least ten more, ending with Tom Cruise… well, he might be in the middle, really._

Alexandra wished it wasn't such a serious moment, because that would've gotten a chuckle. "Alright, Jules, can you… do you know how to switch it back so we're not together?"

Julie didn't look pleased. "You two are still fighting! I can hear both of you in there, you know."

_Oh, so she knows I wanna kill her. Perfect!_

_Shush! _"No, we're not fighting, we're disagreeing. There's a difference, Sweets." Alexandra offered. "Sure, we fought a lot, but we're good for the most part, now. We just have different… ways of thinking about certain things, like you. Hey, if you get us back to normal, we'll prove it. Or you can put us right back like this. Deal?"

_Alex, what're you doing?_

Alexandra just smiled, ignoring Gabriel's question. She hoped that the smile was reassuance enough. She fought back the sigh of relief when Julie looked satisfied.

"Pinky promise?" Julie offered her pinky finger.

Alexandra took it and looped her own pinky around the girl's. "You've got it."

Julie nodded slowly, then stepped back. She closed her eyes, and seemed to be mulling something over in her head.

All of the adults merely stared at her, until a few moments passed and rather suddenly, Gabriel and Alexandra both felt a sharp pain, then nothing, followed by the feeling that they were both falling to the side.

* * *

Meanwhile:

"Oh my God. Where's Alex when you need her? This is ridiculous! I can't do all of this!" Jane Reinello sighed, looking over all of the paperwork piling up on the reception desk. With the recent deaths in town, people were pouring in to find out how the others had died and check if theirs matched the non-existent symptoms. "She's so much faster." She filed the last two in the small pile she had in hand, then spotted James coming around the corner. "James! Any luck shortening that list?" She offered, trying to cheer up the visibly very stressed man.

James just looked at her, shrugged and grunted before going on his way.

Jane sighed and looked back at the papers. "Alright, which of you want to be my best friends next?" She spread out the piles, settling for eenie meenie miny mo. She failed to see the man approaching the desk before he was right in front of it.

"Um, pardon me, but I have a quick question."

Jane looked up and offered a sweet smile, then tried not to let her jaw drop. The man was gorgeous. He was tall, had a full head of brown hair, a come-hither smile, and blue eyes that made you want to die on the spot. "Um, sure?"

The man chuckled, then held out a picture. "I'm looking for this girl. I made some calls and found out that she might be here."

"Oh?" Jane glanced at the picture, recognizing the girl as the only survivor from that fire the other day- Julie or some similar name. "Uh, she might be here. Can I ask who's asking for her?" She offered another smile.

The man laughed. "The name is Christian Woods. Well, I'm her Uncle. "

Jane's smile faded. "Oh, I'm… I'm sorry for your loss."

Christian bowed his head. "Thank you. This whole ordeal still seems… so unreal."

Jane nodded sympathetically. "I can imagine. Here, let me take you." She headed out from behind the desk, then paused. "Oh, wait, she was taken to the hospital the other day."

Christian blinked. "The hospital?" Getting the information he wanted to know couldn't possibly be this easy, could it?

Jane nodded. "How'd you get here?"

"Um, bus, actually." Christian replied.

Jane scoffed. "You poor, poor thing. Come on. I'll drive you." She motioned for him to follow her.

Christian stared at her retreating back for a moment before he smirked. These modern girls were so gullible. The plan was going to work, after all. Imagine that. He glanced over his shoulder at one of his men, sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. With a curt nod, he followed the young woman. This was almost too easy.

* * *

**A/N: Ha, not sure if I massacred or nailed Gabe in this chapter. My friend adored him here. What'd you guys think overall, and not just of that, but of everything? You know what to do. Oh, and because it's been asked, and my friend made stuff to go along with this fic, I might as well mention the dream cast for my Ocs in this fic. In case you're curious:**

**Alex: Jessica Napier  
Hannah: Candice Accola  
Roy: Tim Hutton  
Julie: Elle Fanning (back in her Daddy Daycare days)  
James: Charles Mesure  
Hael: Michael Caine  
Jane: Freema Agyeman  
Eddie (He'll be back): Norman Reedus  
Main Big Bad to be named later/Christian: Steven Brand**


	12. Put Your Hands All Over Me

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, even if it wasn't much of one, haha. Anyways, this chapter goes all over the place as far as plot and emotion, and it's fairly long, so… it's kind of a roller coaster. If you have any trouble following, just lemme know. Thanks goes to my buddy Phantom Creedy lover for helping out with the whole Gabriel-gets-a-conscience scene, too…. Curious yet? Alright, the final scene gets a little… risqué, but nothing… too bad haha. Enjoy. **

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* * *

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Hannah was not quite sure what to think of the events that followed her sister and Gabriel getting their own bodies back. After Hael fixed their situation, as well as the sink, gave them a food supply, and also gave them a radio and television to check up on news that might've come from the town, it got damn near awkward between everyone. They had all gone into the living room, if you could even call it that. Gabriel had parked himself on the wooden rocking chair in the corner, Hael stood beside him, and the girls were sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the room. When Gabriel had started rocking on the chair and the creaks of the protesting old wood and barely missed the tiny brass milk jug Alexandra threw at his head. Upon blaming Gabriel for 'asking for it', Hael had started complaining about his experiences with archangels, present company included.

Gabriel had taken it well for the most part, interjecting sarcastic comments every so often, until Hael quite literally started patting the other angel's head while recollecting memories of interacting with Gabriel in particular.

Naturally, now Gabriel remembered exactly who Hael was, but Hael had been in a different vessel back then. He considered the fact that if Hael's vessel didn't look like it was seventy something, by his fifth story, he would've gotten up, pivoted, punched Hael in the face, and sat right back down. But alas, the vessel was old by human standards, and Gabriel didn't abuse humans over sixty… granted, except those who truly deserved it. Being that Hael was just petting him, he couldn't quite say it was abuse-worthy material. So he just sat there, still having the look of 'I want to pummel Grandpa' on his face. He even had to deal with Julie coming into the room, seeing him, squealing, and sitting in his lap. Realizing he was losing a, well, losing battle, he draped one arm across the girl's shoulders and held her steady as she listened to Hael's stories.

Hannah doubted that the girl could even understand half of what Hael was saying. She glanced at Gabriel, who looked back at her with an expression that practically screamed 'help.' Hannah couldn't quite blame him, but at the same time, she'd rather be on the side of angel family as opposed to angel… could they call Gabriel a friend yet? Sure, he was a dick, but he still looked out for them. So go for angel family as opposed to friend.

"So then this one looks at Gethel and I and goes 'what, cat got your tongue?' Mortifying, I tell you."

Gabriel scoffed. "He had it coming! He stuck his tongue out at the cat, and it was already terrified! What else did you expect it to do other than bite?" Gabriel shot back, then merely stared ahead at the girls when Julie quite literally bopped his nose.

"Stop! Be nice!" Julie frowned at him.

" Be ni… Kelly, do you know that this guy over here has been making fun of my family and I this whole time? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Barbie and Skipper over there do know, but you don't." He replied.

"My name's not Kelly!"

"I know, it's a- oh, whatever…" Gabriel sighed. "You're hopeless. And I know you're not hopeless, before you argue that, too." He shot back before she could object once again.

Alexandra glanced up at him and concealed a smirk. Sure, he acted like the kid pissed him off to no end, but there was no missing the little smile and teasing nudge to the bottom of Julie's cheek after his comment. She turned back to Hannah. "Hey, turn on the radio and find Bill's station, huh?"

Hael 'hmph'ed and raised his hand before he flicked his wrist. There was a loud moment of static, then a clear, enthusiastic voice that rivaled Gabriel's at his best.

"Good news, local yokels! Seems like no more bodies have been found 'round town! Maybe we can all start relaxing, then."

Gabriel and Hael flinched and snorted. "Really?" they muttered simultaneously. "He shouldn't sound so happy about death…" Hael added, alone.

Alexandra shrugged in agreement. "Well, he's always been zainy since high school, but can you blame him? We had four deaths so close together, small town with big news doesn't mix well."'

Hael grunted, then sighed. "True enough."

Hannah rocked back and forth. "So… how long d'you think we need to be here?"

"Long as m' broski thinks it'll take before we're safe." Gabriel got up, taking Julie with him. H crossed the room and sat beside Alexandra, resettling the girl in his lap.

"Which is?" Hannah sighed.

"With the stick up his…" Gabriel glanced at Julie. "Ahem. The way he is? Ha, get comfortable. We'll be here for months." Gabriel replied.

Hannah's jaw dropped.. "Months? Who can live here for months?"

Hael shrugged. "I don't see the point in changing layouts, but I can add amenities."

Hannah looked around in obvious disgust. "Won't really help the creepy factor…" She shifted in order to face one of the cracks in the wall, backing up her point.

Hael raised an eyebrow, then fixed the crack with a wave of his hand. "Better?"

Hannah looked around. "Not really."

Gabriel snorted. "I don't blame you girlie, but-" He stopped talking when there was a low rumble from somewhere outside. A silence passed between the group, then the two present angels exchanged looks. They knew what the sound was. The archangel hesitated, hearing another rumble, then a rather loud thud against the roof. "….Castiel?" He called out, praying it was his brother and not any form of trouble.

Hael frowned when there was another thud, followed by a crack and dust falling from the ceiling. "Gabriel, keep an eye on them. I'll check what it is."

Gabriel settled down and moved so he was closer between the girls. "You sure?"

Hael nodded, then disappeared with a soundless rush of air. The group stared at the spot that Hael had been occupying, only to all yelp and scramble back when part of the roof came down- with someone right on top of it. Gabriel got up and practically dragged Julie into the hallway perpendicular to the room. He ordered her to stay put, then just watched as the girls attempted to dig whoever it was out of the wreckage.

"Hael?" Alexandra called, finally finding tan fabric under a wood plank. She shoved a few planks out of the way and pulled as best she could, finally succeeding in getting the body up. "Hae- Castiel!" She stopped digging around upon recognizing the fallen visitor.

Castiel grunted and looked up at her through half lidded eyes, then frowned. "You've been discovered."

She scoffed. "Yeah, that's been established, I guess. Where the Hell is Hael?" She ignored how odd the phrase sounded.

Castiel blinked again. "He went after me?"

"He didn't know it was you. He just thought it was trouble."

Castiel's look of confusion faded. He looked up and was gone once again. Alexandra let out a yelp when the planks that had been over his body caved in and she dropped a few inches. "What the Hell?"

There was an inhuman screech from above, a beat of silence, then Castiel was back, supporting a very beaten looking Hael against him. He took a couple of steps before his own knees buckled. Gabriel bolted to his side, taking Hael from him. "Cas, what happened?"

Alexandra nodded, taking the angel's hand and leading him to the chair Gabriel had been sitting in minutes before. She pushed him down, then turned and watched as Gabriel lay Hael down on the ground, observing the damage. She turned back to Castiel again, taking in the other angel's injuries. "Are we okay here?"

"For now." Castiel panted. "I was… ambushed. I was handling things…" he glanced up. "There. It wasn't going well. I ended up going to your home to try and lose them… I didn't, and there was another waiting for me at your home." He explained.

Hannah frowned. "Demon or angel? Are Sam and Dean okay?"

"Sam and Dean are fine. I managed to distract your threat and they got away. As far as what that threat is, I'm afraid I can't disclose that information." Castiel replied.

"Wha- ugh!" She hurried to Hael's side. "Hael, can you hear me?"

"Vaguely, dear. I did just get blindsided by… what exactly was that?"

"That was the angel who was after me the first time." Castiel replied. "The one from your home is gone."

"So he could just show up randomly?" Alexandra got up and crossed to him.

"Not now. I have wards up now." Castiel flinched. "I can't heal him yet, either. He'll have to heal on his own later on." He closed his eyes against the pain of his own wounds.

"Hannah, get a couple of towels and some water, will you?" Alexandra offered. "Gabriel, um…"

"I'll try healing them." Gabriel offered, then shrugged upon seeing her questioning expression. "Hey, I was able to possess you and do a couple of things here and there, maybe I'm just coming back slowly." He went over to Hael first, figuring the elder angel looked worse for wear. He extended a hand over Hael's chest and concentrated. When nothing happened, he sighed, trying to push back the doubt he had. He frowned when he spotted an odd glow between his hand and Hael's body, failing to see Julie had walked over and was standing beside him. "It's working." He laughed in disbelief. "It's actually working!"

Hael lifted his head weakly. "You mean… you had no clue that this would work?" He asked.

Gabriel hesitated, staring at him for a moment. "… Shaddup." He looked back at his work, then smirked upon seeing the other angel was completely healed. "Look at that. I'm just that awesome."

"It did?" Alexandra frowned, walking back over to the two, then beamed when she saw that her friend's chest wound was gone, save for the evidence- the blood on his shirt. She let out a nervous, relieved laugh. "It did!" She breathed. "_Gabe_, if I could, I would kiss you."

Gabriel smirked. "Ah, two plusses in one. I like it. How's Castiel doing?" He pivoted and went over to Castiel, who already seemed to be looking better than he had a minute ago. "You okay?"

Castiel frowned, as if Gabriel was asking was possibly the dumbest thing to do in their situation. "I'll be fine. I just need rest." He replied after a moment. He didn't seem at all phased when, a moment later, Hannah came back in and all but slapped the angel across the face with the wet towel she had come back with. The others were fairly amused to see the ghost of an annoyed expression grace Castiel's face as the girl went to work trying to clean the dry blood off of his face and neck. "Make your sister stop, please."

Alexandra looked like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or sympathize with him as his frown deepened when Hannah pressed the cloth harder in reaction to the angel's statement. "You know, she's right there. You can Ask her yourself."

"If you are like Dean as much as you seem, and your sister is like Sam, there is no convincing her to stop from me. It would only work from you."

Hannah dropped the cloth and stuck her tongue out at him playfully before heading over to help Hael up as the other angel started to rise to his feet.

Alexandra watched everyone, satisfied they seemed to be getting better by the moment, then picked up her cell phone when it rang. Not glancing at the caller ID, she pressed her ear to it. "Hello?"

"Alex! Is Cas with you? We were at your place and the next thing you know, there's some… creep in the house-"

"Dean…" Alexandra began. Between the annoying voice and the subject matter, there was no doubt who the caller was.

"a-nd Cas sent us outta there, then we came back in to help him a minute later and he looked beat to shit and-"

"DEAN! CALM DOWN!" Alexandra called, and she was honestly surprised when he instantly fell quiet. "Thank you. Look, Castiel is-" She merely blinked when she felt the phone get taken out of her hand. "Wha?" She turned, seeing Castiel holding the phone to his own ear.

"If this is really Dean…" Castiel began, then looked confused.

Alexandra sighed. "What is it now?"

Castiel frowned and pulled the phone back in order to glare it down. "He hung up on me."

Alexandra scoffed, seeing that the angel's thumb was on the 'end' button. "Not quite. Give it back."

Castiel reluctantly handed it over. "I don't understand. What did I-"

Alexandra waved him off, hit the recall button and waited for it to connect.

"Alex? That you again or is this Cas?"

"Alex." Alexandra replied.

"He hung up on accident, didn't he?"

"Mm hm."

"Yeah, he's fine. Where are you?"

Alexandra opened her mouth to answer, then hesitated. "How'd you find out Gabriel was back and with my sister and I?"

"The kid asked where Uncle Gabel was."

Alexandra raised her eyebrows, satisfied. If this was some imposter and not Dean, Castiel would've sensed it when he arrived a few moments after that incident. "Honestly, I have no idea. Castiel just kind of dumped us here in here."

"Can we regroup to figure out what the Hell just happened?" Dean asked.

"Is that a wise idea, going back to the place where you guys were ambushed?" Alexandra returned. "I mean, I wanna be home, but you saw the beginning of what Castiel had done to him, so…"

"Hm." Dean agreed.

"Wait, I got it." Alexandra beamed. "Go back to Rick's diner, ask him how you get to Dale's restaurant that I recommended."

"O…kay? How's asking about competition gonna help us?"

"Competition? Hon, you forget this is a small town. Dale's his brother. Rick might as well advertise the damn place with a neon sign."

Dean snorted. "Alright, when are we meeting up?"

Alexandra glanced back at Castiel. He looked fine, but he was still panting. There was no way she was going to ask him to fly them there. Who knows what could go wrong. "Two and a half hours."

"We'll be there."

Gabriel finally spoke up. "Wait, so we're going back to Deathsville? That'll work out so well."

And then Castiel proved he had been with the Winchesters for far too long. "…Shut up, Gabriel."

* * *

Alexandra's plan had worked surprisingly well, after they had made it outside and Hael had made a four by four appear with the wave of his hand. Granted, next to Gabriel arguing with Castiel why he should get shotgun. In turn, Castiel merely voiced his concerned about having a gun in a car with a child. Hannah went to explain the term of 'shotgun', but once again, she was waved off by Gabriel, who said he would never understand much of their world. Apparently, Castiel had studied how to get from the Hennessy home to the farmhouse, so he gave out directions on how to get back to townThe ride was quiet, with the exception of the games of I Spy and Banana that Gabriel and Hannah had started up, along with them trying to explain what the point of them were to Castiel. As usual, Castiel continued to have trouble understanding the 'methods of entertainment' humans had. Hannah bit back a laugh and looked at Gabriel, who did one of his 'toldja' shrugs.

They reached the restaurant and headed in, looking for the Winchesters. Dean waved them down from a corner booth.

They all piled in, then looked around, seeing if anyone was watching or possibly listening in. "Where's Sam?" Castiel asked.

Dean just grunted, staring at Hael. "Who's this guy?" The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was thinking of a nickname for the newcomer, and wondering whether or not to use it.

"Hael, angel of the lord, at your service." Hael replied, sensing and matching Dean's sarcasm in his response.

Dean's growing smirk dropped into a frown. "Fan-freakin'-tastic."

Hael's frown matched Dean's. "Do you have a problem with me when we've only spoken for ten seconds?"

Dean sighed. "No, I just dislike angels who just kinda drop into my life and we're automatically expected to trust them." He glanced at Castiel, just for a moment. " And Sam heard the bartender talking about a death, possibly one of the old ones, so he's eavesdropping." He glanced at something a short distance away. "I guess he's done."

The group turned to see Sam coming back towards the table. The younger man offered a small wave, then sat down. He glanced at Alexandra. "You back as Alex or is that Gabriel still in there?"

"Just me, now. Gabriel's still here, though."

Sam frowned. "Where?"

She flinched. "You kinda, sorta sat on him… or in him, whatever."

Sam scrambled up and out of the booth, and the archangel just let out a huff and stared. "Uh, sorry, Gabriel…"

"Don't apologize to him, Sammy! What're you doing?"

Gabriel turned to Dean. "Being polite, Deano. It's okay, Sam."

Alexandra snorted. "He says it's okay, Sam. He wasn't so nice to Dean."

Dean scoffed. "Imagine that."

"Slap him for me, will you, Xanie?" Gabriel growled.

"No. Leave them alone."

Sam and Dean blinked.

"Talking to him, sorry." Alexandra shrugged, then flinched when someone called her name. "Sorry. Gotta go play Little Miss Popular." She got up and headed for the bar table that someone who was beaming at her was behind. She made an over exaggerated squeal and then hugged the man. "Keith! Ah, I've missed you!"

The young man, Keith, kept smiling. "You too, Lexi! How long has it been?"

She pressed her finger to her lips and pretended to think. "Two weeks?"

Keith laughed. "Oh, that's horrible! Come here, I need to hug you again!"

Alexandra laughed and let the man hug her. This was no imposter either. There was too much enthusiasm in his words and actions to be anyone but the real Keith.

Keith turned his attention to her companions. "So who are the three hotties and old buck with you and your sister?"

Alexandra swatted his arm. "Oh, stop! They're all friends and that's it You've met 'the old buck' before, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! The one who shares his name with that vampire guy!" Keith's smile still hadn't lost its ethusiasm. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"Just water, for now. We're just gonna be here for a bit. How's your dad doing?"

"He's good, and you can ask him yourself in…" Keith checked his watch. "Ten minutes."

Alexandra nodded, then turned around when there was a rush of cold air from the front door opening. She arched an eyebrow when she saw it was Eddie who came in.

Eddie looked around for a table, then when his eyes fell on her, his expression changed and he sauntered over to her. "Howdy, Stranger! Long time no see!" He offered a small smile.

Alexandra returned it. "Hi, I'm fine. I see you must've gotten home safe."

"Guilty." Eddie shrugged.

Alexandra nodded and quickly glanced back at her friends. Something about this guy was off from the beginning, but now it was just too awkward. She wanted to try and get any of their attention in case something went down. To her chagrin, only Gabriel was looking over at the two of them. She turned her head back towards Eddie and tilted it subtly. Get over here. Come on. If you call foul, the angels will get here first.

Luckily, Gabriel caught the extra movement and made his way over, deciding to go with helping her out as opposed to sitting through Dean and Sam complaining about never having to deal with Hael.

"You okay?" Eddie asked.

Alexandra blinked, then looked at him. "What? Oh, sorry. My mind's in a billion different places. You want a drink?" She offered quickly.

Eddie raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "And all I did was ask if you were okay."

Alexandra blushed furiously, gaining the courage to go on when she felt Gabriel's equivalent to poking her shoulder and relaxed. "Not like that. Just a friendly offer."

Eddie shrugged. "Than I'll have to take you up on it." He turned to Keith, who had been glaring down Eddie. "Uh… can I get a Newcastle beer?"

Keith grunted, then went to get the man his drink. He came back with it, along with a water for Alexandra, and sent his friend a look that clearly said 'watch him.'

Alexandra offered a wink in return, then spared another glance at Gabriel, who was looking at Eddie with an identical look of distaste. She frowned at him and lowered her head slowly.

Being in her head gave him a fair idea of what that meant. "Hey, we're looking out for you. He's a creep."

Her frown deepened and one eyebrow went up

"For one, he's been staring at your chest since you've looked at me and that's a lot longer than the glance I considered taking."

Alexandra turned quickly, and sure enough, Eddie's eyes quickly rose to meet hers. She hid the scoff.

"Told you, but do you listen? No." Gabriel frowned when she showed no reaction to him. "Blink once for 'I believe you, two for don't." Two blinks. "I hate you too. One blink for 'typical man' or two for 'I don't believe you because you're… you.' Three blinks. "You're a bitch." A clear wink.

Eddie cleared his throat. "You sure you just have a few things on your mind? Usually girls at least look at me."

Alexandra's head shot in his direction. "No! Seriously, it's just… a lot on my mind. Really, I promise. You come off as a good guy. Promise."

Eddie offered another smile that made Gabriel growl to himself. "Good. So… I' m sorry, I never got your name."

Alexandra forced a laugh. "Ruth. The name's Ruth."

Eddie's smile widened. "Ruth, huh? That's a name you don't hear often anymore."

Alexandra shrugged. "Eh, stuck with it for life. Sucks, but what can you do other than change it? That's a nightmare waiting to happen, too."

Gabriel snorted. "Yeesh. You suck at flirting. You know, if I was still in you, I woulda made this so much easier. Make him go away. Seriously, he's a creep."

Alexandra brought her elbow back into his, and then returned to her previous stance.

"Hey, Alex! You done flirting? We got work to do."

Alexandra and Gabriel both flinched and turned back to her friends, searching for Dean, currently hiding behind Hael's frame. She sent him a death glare, and he only smirked in return. The two turned back to Eddie, and Gabriel was the only one who noticed Eddie's hand leave the side of her glass. He narrowed his eyes at the man. Just what the Hell had he done when they weren't looking? He growled again, then practically slapped Alexandra's arm. "Let's get back to them." He suggested, but Alexandra was already apologizing to Eddie and heading back over to the table. "Alex, whatever you do don't drink the-" He froze when he saw her in mid swig. "Alex!" He barked, closing the distance between them.

Alexandra turned to him and paused. "What?" She asked, then frowned and looked to the side.

Dean frowned. "Alex, you okay?"

Alexandra put the glass down and attempted to steady herself on the table. "No, I don't think I am." She replied, casting a glance back in Eddie's direction, only to find the seat was now vacant, and Keith was staring at the door with a puzzled look on his face. Well, shit. Her vision slowly started to double, and she rocked back and forth. "No, no I'm not. I think he drugged me then left. Oh shit. I'm going down. Someone catch me. Now." The last thing she saw was Sam bolting out of his seat and towards her, and heard Keith also heading over in the background, and then she was lost to darkness.

* * *

After he made a quick escape from the bar and got rid of Eddie's appearance, the man took to staying put in the parking lot of a few shops a couple of blocks away. He punched the brick divider between one side of the lot and the other, then pulled his hand back and watched as the blood disappeared and the skin healed itself. He knew that Alex didn't completely trust Gabriel yet, and that would not help the initial plan along at all. The drug had been made to give a… certain kick that would hopefully help the trust along, but her companions just had to call her so the dose was ruined. Now it would only work for a small while. He hoped it would at least kickstart it, if anything. His plan rested on their trust. He couldn't afford another failure. He merely hoped for the best, and that was all he could do- at least for now.

* * *

Alexandra came back briefly around two hours later, barely registering the voices around her.

"Come on, Xanie. You can beat this crap. You take me on on a daily basis, you can take this on no problem."

"Gabriel, she was given a sedative stronger than any I have encountered in the human world, and it has unknown side effects. She may not return in full health."

"Whoa, Cas. Hold on. Like, sedative, sedative, or some… super… date rape drug?"

"Dean!"

"Look, I'm sorry you had to hear that when we're talking about your sister, but you can't tell me you didn't think of that yourself! Goddamn it, I'm gonna find this bitch and kill him myself."

"I'll find a way to help you, Deano."

"Look, I think we're all thinking that, but let's focus on one thing at a time. Wait until we get Alex back and then we can… go about hunting this guy down and burying him alive."

"I like that idea!"

"We all do."

"I can just smite him, you know. Nobody messes with either of my girls and gets away with it."

"…I like that idea better, actually."

Alexandra moaned a bit as some odd feeling hit her and she barely felt Gabriel's pseudo-touch on her shoulder before she was out again. She came back minutes, then came to, once again. She opened her eyes slowly, and spotted Gabriel watching her. She pushed herself up off the couch with far too much energy than someone who was drugged earlier in the same day should have. "Hi." She beamed.

Gabriel arched an eyebrow, but smiled all the same. "Hey, Sleepin' Beauty. How you feelin'?"

"Fine." She replied, stretching. "Where are the others?"

"They went to bed. Castiel managed to get Dean and Sam let me keep an eye on you alone so they could get some rest. Took a while. It's sad they still don't trust me after I died for them."

Alexandra nodded, although it seemed like she didn't process the information.

Gabriel's smile faded ever-so-slightly. What was up _now? _"You scared all of us half to death, you know. I told you that guy was a creep."

Alexandra sighed. "So I did."

Gabriel blinked, then remembered Castiel's words. Unknown side effects. A down to earth, quiet kinda gal would turn into a seemingly happy go lucky gal? What was so wrong about that? She looked at him and beamed in a very unlike-herself way. He had to ask. With the events that followed, he hated the fact he had to wonder what could go wrong.

Alexandra giggled- yes, giggled. Gabriel knew he should've started to worry then and there. "You're kinda hot when you're concerned, ya know." She leaned forward and batted her eyelashes.

Gabriel's jaw dropped and he stared in awe, then realized she was completely gone with all the drug that the bastard had put in her. The Alex he knew wasn't there at all. Just this… drugged mess. He wanted to slap her and hug her protectively all at once, being that if she had just listened or heard to his warning, she would've been completely okay. He settled for swallowing hard. "Huh?"

She leaned forward and ran her hand through her hair. "I never really noticed it."

She was flirting. Ho-_ly shit. _He leaned forward, wanting nothing more than to return the action then for some reason, his conscience decided to bite him in the ass. He looked away and squirmed. This was as far from the Alex he knew it almost hurt. He refused to get drawn in. _No, no no no. She's a friend. I totally can't -since when did that tank top have such a low cut? _He stared for a couple of moments, then snapped out of his moment again and raised his gaze from her chest to her face, trying to focus on anything other than the fact she was coming onto him. "Alex, come on, this is totally unfair!"

"No, really. I haven't…" She moved her arm to the back of the couch, and suddenly Gabriel finds it a lot smaller than he had when he sat down with her earlier. She started scooting closer to him.

Gabriel realized what she was getting at upon seeing the look in her eyes change. The drug was kicking in… a lot, and he figured 'easy' was supposed to get tossed in with 'happy go lucky'. _Damn it. _She wanted him all of a sudden, probably because he just played hero ten minutes ago… plus, he was the only thing around _that had a dick- well, that wasn't practically family or off limits due to a common job of killing demons and a bunch of other supernatural beings_. "Alex… Shit. Alexandra. Alexandra, Alexandra, Alexandra!" His conscience was back and he threw out her full name because he knew if she was okay, it would've pissed her off. He tried to worm his way to the other side of the couch. He had spent so much time trying to learn how to sit on things and climb stairs, he had forgotten just what it was that made him go _through _inanimate objects. Sure, he expected this whole _Alexandra-trying-to-jump-him _thing to happen, but several factors were missing. One, his body should've been _solid_. Two, _he_ was supposed to be _as drunk, as was she_, though without the drugged edge. Three, nobody was supposed to be around. No kid, no Hannah, no angels, or muttonheads. Four, they were supposed to be on a piece of furniture other than the couch, maybe something like the bed in Casa Er- _Don't think of that when you're looking at her, damnit! Don't think of the bed, the blonde, the accent, the room, the- shit! Okay, focus on the message if you're gonna think of that. 'If you're watching this, I'm dead. Stop sobbing, it's embarrassing enough for all of us.' _It wasn't helping. The blonde in the video was suddenly looking a lot more like Alex. _Damn it.__Okay, Lucifer was mentioned at the end of the thing. Think of Lucifer. 'Luci, I'm home.' Stab. Dies._ Okay, that was a bad idea, too.

Alex somehow managed to gain another inch on him somehow in the time that his flashback started. _Shit. _He inched back even more. Why was he freaking out? It wasn't like anything could really go down. _It's the concept of the thing, Idiot. Well, apparently that's not stopping you from getting turned on. Is that even supposed to happen when you're in this state? _He nearly whimpered when she started skimming the spot just over his hair with her fingers. _Is she that gone to forget that she's not really gonna feel anything other than a tingle? Apparently not_. "Alex…" He reached up and attempted to make it look like he was trying to take her hand away. She just moved it and took hold of the back of the coach. No, that _wasn't _a whimper. It was a nervous laugh.

Alexandra made a certain move so she was more or less straddling him and giving him this look that makes his beginning problem below the belt get much, much worse. His thoughts were reduced to _'shit, shit, shit, shit, shit_" and she started to advance on him again. "Alex, Alexandra, Xanie, Lex-Lex, Alexa, Xaniekins… " He threw all the nicknames but the pet names that came to mind. "Come on. This isn't you! Hell, I wish it was. You're gonna find a way to blame me for this in the morning, or… whenever you're back to being yourself!" He was honestly terrified, his own ghost status forgotten as she kept advancing somehow and Gabriel was flat against the coach by the time she stopped. _Dad, ha, surprise, I'm baaaack. A little help here? Wow. I'm calling for Dad when it looks like I'm about to get laid, even if it's impossible. The perks of being God's son… … crap. _That'll be a fun story to tell at parties. Or to the kiddies… which would _come from something like this_. It was official. He was doomed… again.

She suddenly stopped and looked blissed out before her head went down and towards his crotch. _Shit, shit, shit_. Apparently the extra panic helped, because he fell back through the couch arm and rolled to the side. He looked up to make sure she wasn't following, only so she was now unconscious with cheek pressed down where he had been moments before. She had passed out, that's what the movement was. He let out a sigh, then jumped when he heard someone come into the hotel room.

"Hey, Gabe, I- OH GOD!"

Gabriel flinched at Hannah's yelp. "Relax, nothing happened. She just fell."

"And how did she fall into your lap?" Hannah squeaked, still convinced she had walked in on her sister and Gabriel doing exactly what her friend and her friend's boyfriend had been doing that she walked in on a month earlier.

"You don't wanna know. Let's just leave it at it what happened was… close to what you imagined just now." Gabriel replied.

"And that's supposed to mean?"

"That's another thing you don't wanna know."

"…Right."

"Hey, look on the bright side! Your sister came back for a little bit!" Gabriel replied, waving his arm in Alex's direction. "That should mean she'll be back fully soon."

"And if she doesn't?" Hannah sighed.

Gabriel's forced smile faded. "Then we'll figure something out, kid. We'll pool everyone's resources, and we'll fix it."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

**A/N: (cheeky grin) I know, I know. Blame lots and lots of sugar... I hope you all enjoyed that scene as much as Phantom and I enjoyed writing it. **


	13. Sway Like Branches in a Storm

The next morning, Alexandra regretted waking up at all. Her head was pounding violently, and the three lines of light coming from around the hotel curtain seemed way too bright for her taste. She pressed the heel of her hand to the side of her head and sat up slowly. The rest of her didn't like that, and her head pounded in protest. She looked around, trying to register anything more about her surroundings. How on Earth did she even get there, anyway? "…Hello? Hannah? Guys!" Her head pounded again, and she wondered just what was in whatever Eddie had slipped her.

"Next door, Alex!"

Alexandra sighed. _Sam._ He sounded like he was in the next room over. "Where are we? Your hotel?" She called as loud as she could without getting a headache for her efforts.

"Yeah. Are you decent?"

"Uh huh."

A moment later, the door connecting the two rooms opened and Sam stepped in and offered a sympathetic smile. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty damn bad." She replied. "Everyone else in there with you?"

"Mm hm. Your sister's not too thrilled she's gonna miss class- said it might 'bite her in the ass', but she's still here. Don't know about Gabriel, though." He said the last bit with an almost teasing smile, and Alexandra just rolled her eyes and leaned forward to try and get comfortable. "What happened after I got drugged?" She asked. No sense in beating around the bush.

Sam shrugged. "Not much. We brought you guys here- figured it was the next safest place, at least for the moment. You went in and out of consciousness for a bit, but that's really it."

"Hm. Alright, come help me up, here. I wanna try to get back on my feet as much as possible."

Sam snorted, then went to her side and offered his hand.

She took it, and when she managed to pull herself around to sit on the edge of the bed, she still got dizzy. She swayed, and Sam sighed, pulling her up and looped an arm around her waist. "Yeah, maybe you getting up was a bad idea." He observed.

"Shut up, I can do this!" She shot back, but there was a playful glint in her eye. "Move it, Goliath." She nodded to the door, and Sam reluctantly guided her into the other room, where everyone else was, with the exception of Castiel. That was no surprise, but the half uneasy, half curious expression Gabriel wore did.

"Hey, Alex is back from Druggedville! You okay?" Dean grinned.

Alexandra glared at him. "Oh, hysterical. I get drugged so it's all laughter and rainbows for the guys who avoided it."

Dean's smile dropped and he put his hands up. "Aw, come on! You know I didn't mean anything by that." He reached behind him, taking a cup of coffee from off the table. "Besides, we got you the Hell out before the guy could try anything." He offered the cup. "Here, if you can even hold it straight. It might help."

"Or make everything worse." She took the cup all the same and sat down on the opposite corner of the bed that Gabriel was sitting on, with Julie behind him. She arched an eyebrow when the archangel shifted a bit, then looked at her suspiciously.

Dean looked between her and the seemingly empty spot. "Okay, you wanna share what you and the Angel of Idiots are talkin' about with the class?"

"No." The duo replied.

Dean blinked. "…Okay then."

Alexandra looked around. "I thought you said Hannah was here."

"She went out with Hael to get some stuff from the store. Cas wouldn't let him use his mojo to avoid drawing attention to you, your sister and your angel."

Alexandra nodded, then glanced at the said angel, only to find he was still staring at her wordlessly. She turned and sighed. "Hey, look. I know that this is your room and everything, but mind if the Angel of Idiots and I have a moment alone? I have a feeling he wants to talk to me."

"Not unless it's really you there and not… what I had to deal with last night, I don't." Gabriel crossed his arms. "No way, Sister."

"Wha- ugh. Dean, Sam, please?" Alexandra pleaded.

Dean put his hands up in surrender and headed for the door, and Sam just glanced at her, then where he assumed Gabriel was, judging by Alexandra and Julie's glances. "You want Julie in here?"

"No." Alexandra sighed.

Sam nodded. "Alright, Julie. Come here. Let your friends talk alone for a few minutes." He picked up the girl, then headed out the door himself.

Alexandra turned to Gabriel. "What the Hell is up with you?"

"Me? Do you even remember anything from last night?" Gabriel scoffed.

Alexandra blinked. "Hon, I can barely stand up straight. You think I remember anything?"

"Oh, so you don't remember trying to molest me, laws of physics aside." Gabriel arched an eyebrow.

"A-bu-What?" Alexandra demanded, only to have her head pound again. She groaned and leaned back so she was laying on the bed. "God, why do you do this crap to me?"

"My dad has nothing to do with it. It was all you, Babycakes… granted, due to something that creepazoid did to you."

"Shut the Hell up and define ' trying to molest me.'"

Gabriel looked her up and down, as if searching for something, then beamed. "Good. You really are back one hundred percent… with a killer hangover. It's about time I saw you with anything resembling one." He lay back as well.

"Speak, man. What happened? What don't I remember that you're not gonna let me live down?"

"Well, the Wonder Boys came to your rescue, got you to the hotel here, started trying to bring you back. You slept a good portion of the night away-"

"Fast forward to the whole 'molestation' thing." Alexandra ordered, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead again and groaned. "Not what I need to hear now, but…I still need to hear it."

"Oh, you naughty, desperate little thing, you!"

"Gabriel."

"Fine. You put on the moves. Batted eyelashes, practically flashed me… you got dangerously close to my crotch in a couple of ways at a few points-"

She groaned again and buried her face in her pillow, cursing into it, then stopped. She lifted her head. "Well then, thanks for not trying anything, I guess…"

Gabriel snorted. "If you've forgotten since last night's fiasco, I'm a ghost. What could I try?"

Alexandra just shook her head, turned onto her opposite side and curled up. "I hate my life."

Gabriel snorted, then leaned over so his head was directly above hers. "What, the idea of trying to hook up with me is that bad?"

"Yes." She growled.

"Why?"

"Murders, the whole porno thing, your personality, attitude towards everyone you meet-"

"Okay, okay! Yeesh, you think you would take it easy on me. How many times have you stabbed me right through the heart, now?"

Alexandra groaned."Not enough. Can you go away so I can sleep this thing off more, please? I really regret waking up and getting all this information."

"No. You lost my nice guy privileges. I'm not leaving, and any time you get up, even when you ask me not to, I'm following you."

Alexandra didn't bother responding in any way that time. She simply rolled of the bed, steadied herself, then blinked at the door out to the parking lot when there was a knock at it. "Who the Hell is this now?" She frowned and flinched when she realized Gabriel was right behind her, barely leaving an inch between his shoulder and hers. "Really?"

"Really, really." Gabriel smirked.

She shook her head. "Sam, Dean, that you?"

"…Who are Sam and Dean, Lex? Are you fooling around again?" A female voice replied from the other side of the door

Alexandra merely closed her eyes when she heard Jane's voice on the other side of the door, then dropped her head in defeat when Gabriel chuckled.

"Again? Wanna tell me something and change what you said to me two minutes ago?" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows.

"Shut it." Alexandra scolded.

"Shut what?" Jane called. "Open the door and let me talk to you face to face, girlie!"

Alexandra paused, then looked at Gabriel. " I call truce between us for at least a few minutes. If this is a demon's sick joke, you're set to put out angelic flares to get Castiel, right?"

"Way ahead of ya, Princess." Gabriel winked, then turned his attention back to the door.

Alexandra opened it, then barely had time to register her friend enveloping her in a hug before the extra weight hit her body hard. "Hi, Jane."

"Hi! Lex, where have you been the past week? I haven't seen or heard from you at all! That's not like you!"

"I've… been busy, Jane."

Jane laughed. "How? You're practically in a relationship with your work and keeping your sister on the straight and narrow."

"Cleaning, bills, all the works-"

"So who's the guy?" Jane cut her off, grinning from ear to ear.

"…Excuse me?"

"The new guy in your life you won't wanna tell me about." Jane replied. "Is it one of the guys you called for? Sam or Dean?" She gasped and smacked Alexandra's shoulder. "Both of them, you sly dog?"

Gabriel lifted his head, suddenly looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, I definitely have to hear some stories that make her assume that."

Alexandra stepped back and through his foot, then went back to where she was. "I'm not seeing anyone. I swear, I've just been caught up with stuff around the house when we're waiting to reopen at work. Anyway, what's up? How'd you find me? Why are you here?"

"Checking on you and delivering news, I know people, and that girl from the fire that we had to transfer? You remember her?"

Alexandra tensed. "What about her?"

Gabriel guessed correctly at what she was thinking, and stepped through the girls before turning back to Alexandra. "I'll find the Muttonheads and Jules and see if I can keep 'em away for a bit."

Alexandra nodded quickly, managing to sell it to Jane as a small little itch she was trying to take care off. Gabriel sidled away from them and headed in the opposite direction than they were facing, hoping to find the Winchesters before they dragged the child in question right over to the young woman doing the questioning.

Jane sighed. "So I met her uncle the other day…"

Alexandra's head shot up, and that did nothing for her headache. "What?" Last she checked, they had a female family friend to worry about, not an uncle. "Was he here to get her?"

Jane nodded. "Duuuuh, but guess what? She wasn't at either place now! It's like she up and disappeared."

Alexandra tried very hard to look surprised after everything that had gone down as of late. "What? Really?"

Jane nodded rapidly. "Yeah, he started off pretty pissed, then nearly had a breakdown he got so worried, then just left really quickly after I said we'd look into it."

" 'We'?" Alexandra pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, we, you and me. I told him we made a pretty good team."

"You didn't tell him where you or I live, did you?" Alexandra asked.

"I'm not that dumb, Lex. Come on." Jane sighed dramatically.

"Yeah. Sorry. It was just a long night." Alexandra replied. She offered an apologetic smile that faded upon seeing Dean come around the corner of the hotel.

Upon seeing the visitor, Dean froze as well, and the two practically screamed at each other using looks alone. Dean backpedaled, holding onto the joint of the two walls before coming back a few seconds later. "Uh, Alex…?"

Jane turned, and upon seeing the elder Winchester, her jaw dropped, then she grinned at Alex again. "Is that one of your friends?"

"…Yes. Now, Jane, I'll keep the offer in mind, can you just-"

Jane had already hurried over to Dean. "Howdy, Stranger! I'm Jane, Alex's best friend."

"That's nice." Dean cut her off quickly, then looked at Alexandra. "Look, we need to talk."

"What's up?" Alexandra asked, trying not too feel bad being that Jane looked hurt as opposed to offended.

Dean glanced at Jane, coughed awkwardly, then grabbed Alexandra's hand and dragged her back towards where he had gone.

Alexandra looked back at Jane, who now looked confused as ever. "Long story. He's my cousin, blah blah blah. I'll call you!" She called before she disappeared behind the wall.

"O…kay?" Jane called back.

Once Alexandra was satisfied they were out of sight and earshot, she spoke up. "What the Hell was that about?" She hissed once they were next to the Impala.

"Your angel friend- angel, angel, not archangel, apparently started checking out some of Sammy's notes on the first and second bodies… and apparently he was fishing around in your memories to see it from your point of view, just thought you might wanna know-"

"And your point is?" Alexandra interrupted him. "Look, I just… it's too much at the moment, so try and slow down and keep it simple for me, will you?"

Dean nodded. "He uh… he knows where he's seen the symbol- recorded, anyway… he said you may not like it."

"Why's that?" Alexandra asked.

"Apparently the last time he saw it was in your father's sketchbook. He thinks there was some writing with it, but he doesn't remember." The young man rocked back and forth from heel to toe. "So, you think you're well enough for a road trip to your folks' place?" Alexandra sighed and shrugged, but Dean would have to be blind to not see the look of uneasiness that passed on her face. "Why? You have parental issues?" He raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like that's another curse for hunters."

"No, I don't have issues with them, it's just… " Alexandra sighed, preparing herself to tell him what she had told Gabriel days before, at least simplified for time constraints. "A couple of years back, a good portion of my family went on this big hunt for a demon ready to take out the world. It went bad fast. Family members were lost- including Hannah and my brother, Nate. Of course, parents change when they lose kids… … … it's just a little more complicated getting back when you come from generations of hunters… my parents are still… changed from that."

Dean, like Gabriel, took a few moments to absorb the information, and said nothing for a while. "… I'm sorry to hear that."

Alexandra nodded. "Thanks."

Dean looked around. "So… do you wanna hold off on it or no?"

Alexandra tossed her hands up. "You know, let's get it over with. No sense waiting. I owe them a visit anyway." She patted the roof of the car. "Where's Sam, Hannah, Jules, Gabriel and Hael now?"

"Well, Sam's hiding with Julie in a vacant room, and Hael apparently dragged Gabriel off somewhere to try and see if he could get Gabriel's memories and thoughts about the sigil to 'see if his knowledge of the supernatural world could help us along'." He made air quotes and shook his head.

Alexandra nodded, then nudged his shoulder. "You get your brother, my sister and the kid. I'll get the angels. Meet back here in one."

"Got it." Dean headed off in the other direction.

Alexandra turned, then looked around. "Hael! Gabriel! We're leaving!"

A moment later, there was a familiar rush of wind, and Hael appeared in front of her, holding a very violated-looking Gabriel by the arm. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! We just have your father to depend on!" Hael huffed, letting go of the archangel, who immediately walked in a semi-circle to stand beside Alexandra.

Gabriel made his hands hover over her biceps. "Promise me one thing. Never, ever ever let him read my mind again, and I'll never do it to you or your sister or Jules."

Alexandra nodded absentmindedly. "Got it." She turned around, hearing footsteps, and sure enough, Dean, Sam, Hannah and Julie were on their way back over. "We all here now?"

Dean arched an eyebrow at Hael. "One of your boys is here, is the other?"

"Yep."

"Damn. Alright. So… who's sitting in whose lap for this thing?" Dean asked.

Hael offered a smug smile, then reached for Gabriel. "We'll meet you there."

Gabriel leaned away. "No! No, no, no!" However, the objection was cut short as the two of them disappeared.

Alexandra let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, then looked at the Impala. "Okay. Here goes nothing."

* * *

Around half an hour later, the group came up to a house that the Winchesters thought looked like it was right out of some country living magazine. It was large, and the front porch spanned the whole front of the house. After some hesitation, they all piled out of the car, and Hael and Gabriel came out of hiding to join them. The girls led the way up the small flight of stairs to the front door. Hannah hesitated before knocking, so Alexandra did it, then stepped back. "Boys, close your mouths and eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it." Alexandra replied.

The brothers obeyed, and didn't need long to get an answer. The second the front door swung open, there was white powder coming at them. They had just enough sense to realize it was salt before they opened their eyes slowly to see a man with graying dirty blonde hair and brown eyes glaring at the girls.

Alexandra sighed. "Our brother's name was Nate. He was three years younger than me. You took me on my first hunt when I was seventeen."

"You always thought I would want nothing to do with hunting, til I just blurted that I wanted to be a hunter out on my fifteenth birthday to try and bring back what we lost with Nate. You cried. It was the first time I ever saw you cry."

The man's glare instantly dropped and a moment later, he had tossed his arms around them. "My girls…" He murmured, both to them and himself.

"Hi, Daddy…" They both sighed, relaxing into the embrace and returning it whole-heartedly.

After a minute that seemed like hours, they finally pulled back, and their father finally turned his attention to the others. "Hael. Bloody good to see you, mate."

"And yourself, Joe." Hael nodded.

Joe Hennessey bowed his head in thanks, then looked at the other two strangers. His look of suspicion was back. "You are…?"

"Sam and Dean Winchester, sir." Sam answered, motioning at himself, then Dean. "We were around Alex's town when there were reports that didn't quite seem… natural, so we stepped in and met her."

Alexandra reached back and tapped his chest, trying to get him to quiet down. He got the hint. She smiled at her father. "Look, we may not have much time here, so let's get down to the bottom line, here… we need your help with something… you may be able to help us with a lead."

Joe frowned. "Oh? How so?"

Alexandra's smile softened. "Let us come in and sit down on decent seats and we'll let you know."


	14. I Need You to Trust Me

Dean looked around awkwardly at the people he knew, and the two strangers, Alexandra and Hannah's parents. When Joe had brought them into the house and sat them down, he had sat down opposite them and just stared wordlessly. When his wife, Alana, came in, he introduced them, and she proceeded to stare as well. The elder Winchester had never been so happy to see parents not pass down their social skills. He wouldn't know what to do if Alexandra or Hannah were like that. He envied Hael, who had taken Julie upstairs to keep her out of trouble and any impending issues. He glanced at the sisters, who looked just about uneasy as he did. He wondered if Gabriel was feeling uneasy as well. That would've been perfect to see in his book. He coughed, trying to break the silence. "So… you guys are hunters…"

"Retired." Joe replied. "Something that you boys should consider being, if all the stories I've heard about you and your father are true."

Dean blinked. "You've heard of us? All of us?"

"Of course. My brother Roy ran into… a… Singer, was it, during a hunt, and John Winchester was brought up, as were his sons."

Dean nodded, recognizing the name of Alexandra's uncle. "Yeah, well, I don't think anything in our world's gonna let us do that for quite some time- on our side or not." He glared at the corner of the room where he assumed Gabriel was, being that the girls were sitting on the couch in that corner.

Gabriel, on the opposite side of the room, snorted. "Idiot."

Hannah let out a short laugh, then frowned upon catching herself in the act.

Joe arched an eyebrow. "What's so funny, love?"

Hannah blinked. "Uh… well, I just agree with Dean here-"

"Hannah, no." Alexandra sighed. "No sense in lying to _our father and mother _who we came to for help."

Alana frowned. "Lying to? Alexandra, Hannah, what's going on? I was wondering why you didn't call."

Alexandra leaned forward. "Okay, I'm sure you guys have heard about all of the weird things going on back home-"

"Of course! We kept trying to call you but there wasn't an answer." Alana replied.

"Well, that's because we've been with these three… and two other angels, running around trying to figure out what the Hell's going on."

Joe narrowed his eyes in a way, that the boys noticed, Alexandra must've picked up from him when she was suspicious. "Two others? Where are they?"

Sam felt bad for the girls who seemed to shrink back upon their father's uneasiness "One's… taking care of angel business and the other…" He blinked, then looked back at the sisters. "Where is he? Is he still even here?"

"Uh huh. Bout seven feet diagonally across from you." Alexandra nodded.

Gabriel waved, perfectly aware it was a useless gesture.

"Who's standing right there?" Joe asked, glancing in Gabriel's general direction.

"The archangel Gabriel, Dad." Alexandra replied.

Joe stared for a while, then laughed. One he just received straight faces, his smile faded. "You know I don't appreciate jokes in… this category."

"Dad, we wouldn't lie to you, and the Winchesters seem like people who wouldn't, either." Alexandra replied.

"Not at all. Not to strangers… unless it's completely needed- unlike now." Dean backed her up.

With the new possibility in mind, Alana continued to size up the newcomers, and Joe rose to his feet. "So… you're honestly saying that Gabriel- the archangel Gabriel, is sitting here… in this very room?"

"How many times does it really take to get a point across?" Gabriel deadpanned.

Alexandra shot him a look. "Yeah, Dad. Look, I know it's a lot to swallow, but…" She frowned, seeing her father stop in his tracks and start to sway back and forth. "…Dad?" She gawked momentarily when he let out a yell of pain and dropped to his knees. "DAD!" She went to cross the room, along with Hannah and their mother, but the Winchesters beat them to it, trying to steady the man as he continued to rock from side to side, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead. The older man was moaning in pain, and when he wasn't, he was barking out intelligible words.

Dean looked around. "What the Hell is going on?" He looked up. "Gabriel, wherever you are, what the Hell is going on?"

Gabriel stopped gawking himself. "Tell them it looks like your dad's having some…. Vision, or something." He blurted, his eyes not leaving the man. He liked Joe right off the bat for some reason, which was perhaps why he had one single snippy comment. He honestly felt bad for the guy, and was as confused as the others.

"What?" Alexandra looked at him. "You have to be kidding me!"

Dean glanced at her. "What'd he say? What's going on?"

"Vision." Hannah replied.

Dean arched an eyebrow. "You would think he's old enough to stop having em-" He flinched when Joe accidentally dug his fingers into the younger man's kneecap.

"Well, he's not quite… supposed to have them." Hannah replied.

Sam frowned. "Why not?"

"He stopped after that disaster or a night." Alana replied, sounding reasonably out of breaths. "Joe, Joe, can you hear us? Joe!" She rested her hand on her husband's back, continuing to call his name.

Dean looked between the other family members. "Disasterous night- like, the one you told me about before, where you lost people?"

Alana glared at him for a moment, but upon seeing her daughters looked at him and nodded, and Dean looked sympathetic, even for a brief second, she dropped it.

After another couple of seconds of silence, Joe finally stopped shaking and with one final howl of pain, he looked up. "What… who…?" He looked at the visitors. "Who's the blonde guy? Bad hair, green jacket… vomit-colored eyes?"

Dean stared, then laughed. "Sounds like Gabriel, last time we saw him."

"It probably is." Alexandra replied, glancing at Gabriel, who merely shrugged and nodded in agreement. "What about him?"

Joe shook his head. "So much… too much…" He sighed, then glanced up at Alana, who was staring back, still looking terrified. "I'm alright, Lana." He assured her, then sighed when she let out a whimper. He leaned up and kissed her. "Really, I promise."

"So what'd you see?"

"Well, that blonde, your friend- your angel, I assume… then…" He frowned "Blood, and… someone… I can't quite place." He rubbed his forehead, then started to get up. The Winchesters assisted him, then backed off. They sensed the man was one of those people who took pride in doing things themselves. If he was like that after the accident, they wondered how he was before.

Joe looked around. "Right. So, enough about that show. What're you people really here for?"

Dean narrowed his eyes. Even for someone beating around the bush, that was too quick of a subject change. Even the girls and Alana seemed to stop fidgeting to consider the change.

Joe snorted. "Come on. My girls just show up outta the blue just to say hi? That's quite rare these days… not that I blame them."

Dean looked at Sam, who nodded quickly and rose to his feet. "Well, this sounds like a family thing, so Dean and I will-"

Joe pointed back at the couch. "No, stay. You're just as involved in this as the girls and the angels are. You have the right to know… whatever you're after, as well." He put his hands on his knees. "Which is…what, by the way?"

"What we found at the second scene. It's a sigil. Hael said you might be able to help us with all of the ones you've seen over the years?"

Joe considered her words, then nodded. "Do you have a picture or drawing?"

Sam nodded. "I do." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up the picture of the sigil. "This is it. Kind of a crappy picture, but…"

Joe took the phone and looked it over. His curious expression went from one of concern. "…It's been years since I saw this one."

Sam frowned. "You've seen it before?"

"Upon just seeing it in the vision? Once."

Hannah blinked. "Where? When?"

Joe shrugged. "Back when your sister was still dating that angel."

Gabriel's head shot up. "Since what?"

Alexandra glanced at him. "Nothing. Shut up."

"Pardon?" Joe frowned.

"Talking to Gabriel." Alexandra sighed.

Joe narrowed his eyes, then leaned back and murmured something.

A moment later, while nothing seemed different for Gabriel, Hannah and Alexandra, both Sam and Dean shot up out of their seats, Alana let out a yelp, and Joe just looked up expectantly.

"Dude, what- Gabriel?" Dean sputtered.

Gabriel frowned and turned to Dean. Sure enough, he was looking right at him. "…Uh oh."

Alexandra looked from the brothers to Gabriel and back. "Dad, what'd you do?"

Joe shrugged. "Fixed a problem I've had in the past with Hael." He glanced at the Winchester, and in turn, Gabriel. He looked between the man he recognized from his vision and brothers who were glaring the angel down. "… I'm guessing you three have a history."

Gabriel looked at him. "Whoa, wait three? You guys can really see me?" He turned around and swiped his hand through Hannah's arm. "…I'm honestly outta theories."

"You're gonna be outta consciousness in a second." Dean lunged forward, but Sam caught him around the middle.

"Dean, stop! One issue at a time!" Sam called.

Alana finally spoke up and gestured at Gabriel. "Can someone please explain to me who this is? This stranger who just popped up in my house-"

"Mom, the archangel Gabriel. Gabe, you've been here the whole time so there's no sense in making introductions."

Gabriel mock saluted. "Nice to meet ya, ma'am. Moving on." He turned his attention back to the boys. "Are you guys gonna play nice like you did when you couldn't see me, or is this gonna change things?"

Dean let out a low growl.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Aw, come on. I've been nothing but helpful the last few days."

Alexandra got in between them again. "Guys, take it easy. This isn't the place. We have an answer and we just had something that might help us. Let's get out of here, get everything worked out, then get back on the case."

"Right, listen to Alex, boys. Listen to the voice of reason." Gabriel agreed.

"Gabe, shush. It's enough that a girl has to back you up." Alexandra replied.

Dean's look of annoyance faded, replaced with a smile, and Gabriel looked far fro happy.

"Seriously. Let's go. Dad, thank you. Hannah, can you get Hael and Julie?"

"On it." Hannah jumped up and headed for the stairs.

The others rose to their feet slowly, eyes darting around.

"So soon, though?" Alana asked. "I thought we'd have a little more time…"

Alexandra sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. We just have a lot to deal with right now. Like I said, we just got a little hint towards an answer and what'll hopefully turn out to be something that'll help us. We have to keep moving, no matter what, so… right." She sighed. "Guys, I'll meet you outside."

Dean and Sam nodded, then headed for the front door. Dean hung back when Gabriel didn't move. "Hey, if he's not going, we're not."

"I am, Deano. I just… I dunno. Picked up on somethin weird." Gabriel looked around, then sighed. "Whatever. The lady gets mad if you don't listen to her in one minute, so let's go." He moved so he went through Dean on the way out, and the boys reluctantly followed him.

Once she was satisfied the men were gone, Alana sighed. "Alright, sweetheart. I'll see you soon… I'm counting on it. Come here." She pulled her daughter into a hug. "And you watch that short one- the angel. I don't like the way he looks at you."

Joe snorted. "No parent does."

Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Guys, he's just a friend, and that's a stretch, calling him one. We really have to go now."

Joe nodded. "Right then, my turn." He waited for Alana to step aside, then hugged his daughter , putting his head right beside her ear. "He might be a friend, but watch him anyway." He whispered.

Alexandra pulled back, a look of confusion on her face. "What?"

Joe sighed. "The vision showed me something I didn't want to see. Keep an eye on them all. One's not quite going to stay a friend to you." He pulled back. "You understand? We already have enough trouble."

Alexandra narrowed her eyes, then caught his eyes flick towards the kitchen. "…Dad?"

Joe shook his head. "It's fine. Now, go figure out what the bloody hell is going on. You stay in touch if you need more help, you understand?"

Alexandra nodded slowly, then glanced over as Hannah, Hael, and Julie came down the stairs. Joe kissed his youngest, as did Alana, shook Hael's hand, then did an over exaggerated bow to Julie. Once the goodbyes were taken care of, they all headed out- well, Hannah, Hael and Julie really had to practically run after Alexandra as she sped up when she reached the stairs down to the sidewalk.

"Alex, slow down!" Hannah called.

"No. Something's wrong. We weren't in the kitchen once, and the way Dad looked at it, someone's there." Alexandra replied, not bothering to look as the men regrouped with them and asked what she meant. "They weren't possessed, but they just seemed… more like themselves today. It doesn't add up." She headed down the walkway leading to the corner where their cars were.

"Glad I'm not the only one who thought so, but really? You think they were that off?" Hannah asked.

Hael shrugged. "She's right. I sensed something off, but not that much…"

Alexandra opened her mouth, then shut it, looking for words. "It's… you guys… ugh. It's just that you guys weren't…. you guys didn't hear what he told me and how he said it." She glanced at Gabriel, and the angel pretended he didn't notice. "It was just… odd." She finished, running a hand down her face.

Dean nodded. "Hey, if you guys keep up trying to figure out what's going on, asking around, Sam and I will make a few trips back here to check up on your folks. Does that work?"

"Wow, Deano. That's nice. You're not as selfish as you look." Gabriel cut in.

Dean stopped in his tracks, pivoted, and punched right through Gabriel's face. He had figured it wouldn't after seeing Gabriel's hand go through Hannah, but he thought it would at least make him feel better. It didn't. "What the Hell, man?"

Gabriel shook his head, pretending to get rid of the non-existant pain. "Whoa. Head rush. Haven't had that in a while since I had fifty drinks in a row back in fifty four. Thanks, pal."

"Shut up!" Dean barked.

"You know I'm not gonna listen to _you."_ Gabriel replied with a smirk.

The sisters glanced back and forth from the men, who were also looking back and forth from one another. A moment later, Dean swung at Gabriel again, but this time Gabriel ducked it.

Alexandra maneuvered between them. "Hey! Just hold on! We told you he's around, now you see him because of that thing my dad did. Can we leave so we can sort this out? Gabe's already half dead so trying to kill him isn't gonna help."

"So he's Gabe now?" Dean demanded. "You know, I thought I heard you call him that a couple of times in there, but I thought it was just my imagination."

"Running 'way with you?" Gabriel smirked.

"Gabriel, stop egging him on!" Alexandra replied.

"Yes, mom."

She shooh her head, then looked at Dean "As far as calling him Gabe, it's not relevant. Get in your car. Now."

"But-"

"Get. In. The. CAR!"

Dean put his hands up, and with one final 'I'm watching you' look in Gabriel's direction, headed for the Impala.

Sam, unlike Dean, looked over Gabriel once, with what looked like a sympathetic expression, then looked back at Alex. "Where to?"

"My uncle Roy's. He'll wanna know that my mom and dad are in danger with whatever this is."

"Won't that put him right back in danger?" Gabriel asked.

Sam glanced at Gabriel and snorted. He found the way the ange could go from pain in the ass with Dean to all business with him, the girls, and Hael.

"I think he can take it." Alexandra replied, then patted his arm. "Be careful anyway, huh?"

Sam nodded. "You too." He turned, then paused and turned to Gabriel. "Look, this isn't some kind of sick, twisted joke from your end-"

Gabriel frowned and arched an eyebrow. "Winchester, I was just being the messenger for you two, and I have no idea what's going on, same as all of ya. You may not believe it, but I like these guys too much to mess with them." He scoffed. "And can you show a little trust? I mean, I got you guys outta there before anything with Lucifer could go down."

Sam opened his mouth, then firmly shut it before turning his attention back to Alexandra. "We'll be right behind you." He headed over to the Impala and got in.

Dean sighed. "So… do we trust him, or do we keep an eye on him like everyone else is?"

Sam shrugged. "Dean, he's been okay so far, and… look, I know one thing- I trust Alex, and if she trusts him, I trust him. If that trust ever stops, then we go after him. Will it? I don't think so."

Dean shrugged. "Well, if it does, you're behind me on… at least _attempting_ to jump him, right?"

"Right."


	15. I Will Not Fall

**A/N: Alrighty, just saying this chap should really have a rating between T and M for the mention of blood and violence and all that fun stuff. Moving on. Don't forget to tell me what you thought. I don't own Supernatural, blah blah blah. Sorry if you think the chapter's lame. I've been on a train for five hours and counting so I'm drained (and I'm still on it three hours after I wrote that last fragment). Damn you, going back to college. **

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Gabriel glanced at Alexandra, whose eyes were still glued to the road ahead. Not much had been said since they left her parents home. Of course, he couldn't blame her. He'd be the same way with his own family if they were in danger. However, she looked miles away, and he didn't like that. "So… about that angellic boyfriend-"

Alexandra chuckled. "I knew that was coming. You weren't asking loudly again. You deserve to know, anyway. I'll start off slow for ya. He was a fallen. My parents and I found him almost the same way we found Hael- nearly ran him over in the road when he stumbled into it 'cause he was hurt." Alexandra replied.

Gabriel blinked, then glanced back at Hael, who was talking to Julie quietly. He turned back. "Fallen, huh? What was my lucky bro's name?"

His name's Soren-"

Gabriel's jaw dropped. "Soren? No! You?" He looked her up and down. "You're too good for him!"

"Thanks, but… I didn't think so, back in the day." Alexandra shrugged.

"Alex, he was a power hungry bastard who tried to get angels kicked down here." He pointed down to indicate Earth.

"You guys can be remarkably similar sometimes."

Gabriel frowned. "That's the worst thing you've ever said to me. The guy was just as much of a dick as Lucifer was until Dad booted him down here."

"Both of you have the charmer-then-wiseass approach at everything" Alexandra offered.

"But I didn't try to-"

"The Winchesters."

"That's totally different! They're alive and well, partially because of me. Soren tried to take over the ranks up in heaven! Come on!"

Alexandra shrugged. "He was a good guy when we first met. Like I said, we nearly hit the guy. We tried to take him to the hospital and he downright refused, just asked us to get some gauze so he could patch himself up. Dad refused him and took him home. It was a stupid move, but he trusted the guy. We all did. Charmed my folks, charmed his way into my heart, as corny as that sounds-"

"Charmed his way into your bed, too?" Gabriel arched an eyebrow.

Hael, who had been trying to tune out the conversation, as had Hannah, looked at the teen. She shrugged, and he nodded. "We'll meet you at Roy's," He put a finger to Hannah's forehead, rhen the other to Julie's, and a moment later, they were gone.

Alexandra glared at the vacant spots through the mirror, then turned her attention back to Gabriel. "There's that similarity, by the way. The whole cut me off thinking you know what's coming next."

Gabriel pouted. "Hey, I'm trying to understand, here. Was I right?"

"…Yes, but… the whole thing just seemed off… anyway, bottom line, shortly before the whole… hunt gone wrong, he just… stopped coming around. Disappeared. No call, no random… fly in, if you will. It just stopped, right when I needed him most."

"He hurt you." Gabriel mused.

Alexandra shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

Gabriel nodded slowly. " Yeah, sounds like him." Gabriel shrugged.

"He was really that much of an ass?"

"Like I said, as dickish as the devil." He looked at her. "Look, Al. You snap quickly as your coping mechanism, hiding behind humor is mine. Sure, I'm a tool to everyone. I'll admit that. Thing is, I won't just drop you, or intentionally hurt you. I owe you that after all this. That's a promise. Hell, I never left our boys after I met 'em, did I?"

"Hon, you need to learn those two are possibly the worst examples you could use after all the stories I've heard from both sides."

"_Hon_, You need to learn to lighten up. Geez, you're like Dean on a bad day."

"I kind of have to when I had to start running things and take care of a teenage kid when I was twenty seven. Sure, people have done that before, but I doubt being a hunter and kicking demon ass is on most of their lists, too.:"

Gabriel grunted in agreement, then glanced out the window, pausing upon seeing something he didn't like, and knew she wouldn't. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop the car."

Alexandra pulled over. "What is it?" It didn't take long for her to get an answer, being that she saw Eddie on the sidewalk a few feet away down the connecting block. Worse yet, he was talking to someone, and tat someone was Jane. "Oh, Hell no!" She practically threw all of her weight against the door as she opened it, heading right for the two of them.

"Al! Ugh, Alex!" Gabriel called after her, then glared at the car door. He couldn't just walk through it, now that there were people around. When she just kept walking, he grumbled again and leaned back. He couldn't even back her up, even if that only meant calling a warning if it came to that. "Damn it." He watched, flinching as she closed the distance between her and the pair. He hissed, then chuckled when he could've sworn he heard the crack when Alexandra punched Eddie hard in the jaw. "That's m'girl." His jaw dropped when Alexandra followed up her first punch by kneeing Eddie in the face. "Damn!" He sunk lower in his seat when she grabbed Eddie by the back of the jacket and launched him into a set of nearby garbage cans. He looked forward when Alexandra grabbed a babbling Jane and dragged her back towards the car. They made it back to the car and Alexandra barked at Jane to get in the back before she got back into the driver's seat and continued on without a word.

After letting a few moments of silence passed, Jane leaned forward. "Lexi, what was that?" She looked at Gabriel. "And who the Hell are you?"

Gabriel looked back and offered an innocent smile. "Her boyfriend, Gabe."

"Boyfriend? What? When did this happen? Alex?" Jane demanded. "Speak to me!"

"That creep tried to drug me the other day, Jane. That's what's up. And my boyfriend here, well, we wanted to keep it on the down low for a while," Alexandra replied.

"Whoa, wait, drugged you?"

"Yes. Long story short, my cousin that you met the other day, his brother, and Gabe here got me outta there in time. God forbid that happened to you."

Jane hugged her as best she could. "Thank you." She turned her attention to Gabriel. "Sorry about that, then. I'm Jane, by the way. Her coworker and best friend." She extended a hand.

Gabriel glanced at it. "Well, like you heard, I'm Gabe. Sorry, I'm not a hand… shaker. I have OCD that rivals Monk's, ya know?" He offered a secret smile in Alexandra's direction when she turned to him, impressed with the excuse.

Jane frowned, but took the new development in strides. "Oh. Works for me. Gabe, huh? Your parents religious?"

Gabriel chuckled. "Something like that, yes." He turned his attention back to the road when Alexandra turned down Roy's street.

Jane looked around. "Hey, isn't this your uncle's block?"

"Yeah, we're going to visit him." Alexandra replied.

"So… I'm coming over by default, too?" Jane asked.

"Guess so." Alexandra nodded.

"Good, I haven't said hi in a while." Jane smiled. "I miss your uncle. He's awesome."

Alexandra laughed. "Good, but Gabe and I need to talk to him alone for a few minutes, okay? Family stuff and all that."

Jane raised her eyebrows. "Damn, Gabe! This is the first time I've seen or heard of you and you're already involved in family stuff? You must rate."

Gabriel laughed again. "Well, my Dad knows her Uncle, so it's more through that connection than the 'meet the almost-parents', really."

Jane nodded, satisfied. "Cool. Alright, I'll chill out here for a bit, then." She replied as they pulled up to the house.

"Thanks, Janie. Love you." Alexandra replied, getting out of the car.

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "Uh, babe, the car door's acting up again. Can you get it? You know the trick, I don't."

"Sure, hon." She reached over and hit the top of the car's trim beside the lock, then unlocked the door and opened it. Gabriel stepped out and waited for Alexandra to come around. He motioned at the door and she kicked it so it looked like he had closed it.

Once they were a few feet from the car, Gabriel leaned over. "So how you gonna tell him?"

"Hael probably already has. Now we're lucky if he doesn't tackle me to keep me here and refuse to let us go solve this thing." She knocked on the door.

Roy opened it a few minutes later, then raised an eyebrow at the archangel. "I take you're Gabriel? How're you visible now?"

"Well, your brother or brother in law did some spell- said it was experience from Hael."

"In law, and whatever you have to do, right?"

"Exactly. Look, Roy, I think Dad and Mom are being held… captive, I don't even know, by whatever has started this."

Roy nodded. "Hael told me. So what's the plan?"

"We don't even have one yet. We can't stay here long, either." Alexandra replied. "Can we come in?"

Roy narrowed his eyes, then looked between the two of them, and last at the car. "Why's Jane here?"

"Got her away from the problem." Alexandra replied. "She misses you, by the way."

Roy responded with a tight smile, then waved at Jane, who waved back. "I worry about that girl sometimes…"

"We all do. Now, is everyone here?"

Roy stepped aside. "Beat you by an hour or so. What took you guys so long?"

"We needed to talk alone for a bit, then the whole thing with Jane." Alexandra stepped inside the house.

Gabriel went to follow, then froze. He arched an eyebrow, but his eyes told Roy all he wanted to know,

Roy motioned inside. "Relax, I got rid of them after you left the first time. I figured you'd be back and wouldn't like to be shocked again." He smiled.

Gabriel offered a sarcastic smile back, then stepped inside, still flinching when he crossed the threshold. He stayed in it for a moment, then when he knew nothing was coming, came in the rest of the way.

"Everyone's in the living room trying to sort everything out." Roy informed them.

They had barely gotten into the other room before Dean was practically on top of them. "What took you so long? What did Gabriel do? What did he do?"

"Nothing, Dean! Calm down!" She attempted to nudge him back, and Sam met her halfway, dragging him back towards his seat. "I thought you said you were okay with him."

"I was… when I still thought it was some demon's joke or when I at least didn't really see him!"

"Right, because I've totally started trouble since then." Gabriel sighed.

"You could've, you son of a bi-"

"Dean, come on!" Sam insisted. "She's right. He hasn't started anything yet. We have a lot more to worry about then him. Their parents are in danger, Dean!"

Like someone had flipped a switch, Dean instantly dropped his plan to somehow throttle the archangel in front of him and sat down. "…So what's the plan?"

Alexandra frowned. "Um… well, being that we're still running on clues, try to get more and see what the we're doing right or wrong. I don't know if we should send Hael back to my parents' place in case it's a set up for any of us, human or angel."

Hael snorted. "I'm fully capable of taking care of myself, Alex. You know that."

"I do, but… what if you're wrong? I don't want to risk that. None of us do. Sam, Dean, anything."

Sam shrugged, but Dean sighed. "No. Let him go to your parents. If you think they're that badly in danger, then they need to be protected. So far, you've had good hunches." He looked down and swallowed hard. "Too many families get screwed by these bastards. Of course, you know that already, but… you still have your parents. We don't." He shrugged one shoulder. "Let's keep that first part that way." He got up. "If you don't want Jeeves over there to go, Sam and I will."

Hael looked irritated by the nickname, but took it anyway. "Agreed. You stay here with the girls and Gabriel. You have him, and Castiel, if he shows up around now. Besides, I get there far quicker." He turned his attention back to Alexandra. "Shall I?"

Alexandra hesitated, then nodded. "Be careful."

Hael nodded. "Always am." He winked, then disappeared in a flutter of invisible wings.

The rest of the people in the room released a breath none of them realized they were holding. "…Do you have the paper or something we can see if there were any new attacks with?"

Roy nodded, then paused. "Do you think we can trust James?"

Alexandra nodded. "Of course. The guy's been with me for years."

Roy picked up the wireless phone in the corner and tossed it to her. "Here. We need all the help we can get."

"Got it." She took the phone and started dialing her friend's number, then left the room.

Gabriel looked from Julie to the Winchesters. "So… what have you boys been up to?" The two sour looks he received were enough to tell him he wouldn't get an answer, not that he hadn't figured that before."…Okay then." He looked down at his feet, then turned his attention to Hannah. "So, Soren and Alex were pretty serious, huh?"

"Whoa, wait, she told you about him?" Hannah blinked. "She never tells anyone about him!" She paused. "Well, that could be the fact that he was an angel turned bloodthirsty creep, but…" Upon seeing the brothers' stunned looks, Gabriel's expectant one and Julie's terrified one, she laughed nervously. "And that's story time for today."

"No it's not!" Dean objected. "Go on."

Hannah sighed. "It's PG-13, then." She pointed at Julie. "Not for young ears."

Dean scoffed. "Perfect. Now this whole partnership has secrets. That's all we need."

"Deano, I only know because I heard something and Hael has horrible judgment about what he should say in front of who. I…" Gabriel stopped mid sentence as his head seemed to pound briefy- not hard enough to hurt, but it sure as Hell got his attention. Something or someone was coming- not coming- here. Crap. He got to his feet.

Dean frowned. "What is it?"

"Shh!" Gabriel hissed, then looked around. "Stay here." He turned around and there was another pound in his head, but this one was weaker. He remembered it from an experience years ago. He had called it his 'Well, danger's here, but it's right in front of you, so this is basically useless' sense. "Alright, where are you…?"

"Where's who, Gabriel?" Dean asked. A moment later, he heard a muffled, high pitched scream. All he could do was gape as the window suddenly shattered and Gabriel went flying through the opposite wall. Sure, it didn't do damage, but Dean knew if there wasn't the whole ghost-Gabriel thing going on, the wall would've been destroyed from the force that was used. He didn't have much time to continue to gape, though. A moment later, he too was thrown against the wall, but there was less force behind it. His head connected with the drywall hard, and his world spun. He barely registered Julie screaming or the fact that his brother and Hannah were in the same predicament he was a moment later. He tried to take a breath, but there was a force against his chest preventing him from doing it. The ordeal was nothing familiar, but it still pissed him off. He heard a shotgun firing not to far away and hoped it was Roy or Alexandra doing the firing.

A woman Dean might've thought was hot, had he not been certain she was the one holding them against the wall came in through the hole she had created. "Wow. Our boy's going to familiar faces too, hm?"

"Old boy? What?" Dean was surprised he could even talk at this rate.

The woman looked at him and smiled. "Yes, Dean Winchester. Guess you'll just have to figure this out on the way, huh?" She looked at Sam. "I bet your little brother will figure it our first, but… that's not my concern right now." She shrugged dramatically and waved her hand. The brothers and Hannah went flying to the floor on the opposite side of the room, landing in some of the shards of glass. The three of them flinched in pain, more so when they heard another feminine yell of pain from outside. Alexandra was in trouble, and they weren't in any spot to help.

The woman smiled, then turned to Julie, who was hyperventilating. "Hi, Sweetie. Guess what? I've come to save you from these mean people."

Julie blinked rapidly. "They're not mean…"

The woman frowned. "I know they don't seem like they are, but they lied to you. Your mom is gone, but your daddy's okay. I can take you to him."

Julie just gawked, not registering the chorus of 'don't listen to her' that came from the others in the room. "You can take me to daddy?"

"Mm hm." The woman nodded.

"Julie, no!" Hannah called through gritted teeth.

The woman frowned, and a shard of glass just happened to come up and embed itself into the teen's shoulder. Hannah let out a whimper, but glared daggers at the woman. "Yes I can. Wanna see?" The woman asked.

"You won't be showing her anything."

The injured party looked up into the archway to see Roy holding a shotgun, pointing it at the woman. A moment later, he fired, and the shell hit the woman, Within a moment that seemed like ages, a black cloud rose from the woman's mouth, and the empty body fell to the floor.

Unfortunately, a moment later, a man appeared. He took one look at the body, scowled, and waved his own hand in Roy's direction. The action sent Roy crashing down beside the others.

The man nodded. "Now that you're taken care of…" He looked at Julie. "Let's get you back where you belong." He reached for her, and the two were gone a moment later.

"No! God damn it!" Dean tried to get up, but the glass jabbing everywhere prevented him from doing it as fast as he had wanted. "Why do they want the kid? Just 'cause she's half angel?"

"Probably." Roy coughed. "Alex. Where's Alex?" We got thrown apart."

"We were stuck here the whole time." Hannah replied, then yelped when she brought her had down on a shard by accident. "I just hope she's doing better than we are."

Meanwhile, out side, that certainly wasn't the case. The demon who had taken Alexandra on had already succeeded in cutting her several times with a dagger. She barely managed to get two punches or kicks in between his jabs. She glared up at the demon after he tossed her to the ground a third time. She growled and launched herself up at him, which earned her the worst damage yet- a large cut, right across the side of her waist. She yelped and hunched over, earning yet another cut, this time on her shoulder. Things weren't looking up… at all.

Even Gabriel seemed to be fighting a losing battle as well. The demon who had just proved angels worked as rag dolls had taken to kicking him in the ribs. He was confused about what kind of people or creatures could bend the rules of his situation again. So half angels, full angels, and apparently now demons could touch him, but humans couldn't? He really hated the world he lived in sometimes. He groaned and pushed himself up the ground, just to get kicked right back down. He cursed and got up again. "Alright, smartass." He spit out the blood that had gathered in his mouth. "Come on."

The demon laughed. "Interesting. I thought you'd be more worried about protecting your lady friend there as opposed to killing me."

Later, Gabriel would admit it was a stupid move, but his head snapped in Alexandra's direction. When he had seen her moments before, it looked like she had been holding her own. Now seeing her with a dagger sticking out of the front of her shoulder, he realized he was very, very wrong. "ALEX!" He went to bolt over to her, only to get tossed back again. This time, it wasn't away from anything- it was towards something. He ended up getting caught quite literally by the throat. He coughed and squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, trying to clear his vision. He looked down to his latest attacker, and upon seeing him, wondered if he had hit his head too hard on one of the last landings. "Wha… Soren?"

The angel that had been the topic of most of the day's conversations smirked up at him. "Ah, Gabriel. Good, you do remember me."

Gabriel went to object again, only to get tossed towards the house again. He stopped midair and got launched another direction before he came back to Soren again.

Soren stepped forward a few times. It seemed so casual, but the way his eyes flashed indicated the movement itself had been thought out carefully.

Gabriel spared a glance towards Alexandra to see if she had seen his attacker, but she was still engrossed in her own fight. The dagger was gone from her shoulder, and he honestly hoped it wasn't in so much so it had just fallen out and she hadn't taken it out. He turned back to Soren. "Funny, we were just talking about you."

Soren arched an eyebrow. "Were you, now?" He tossed Gabriel to the ground, and then shape shifted for a moment.

Gabriel stared in confusion, then realized Alexandra must've been looking at that moment. He took the break in the fighting to his advantage, trying to get his breath back as much as he could before the real Soren was back and he was sent flying further back, then slammed down again. "So… afraid of your ex seeing who you really are, huh?" He flinched when Soren yanked his head up by the hair.

Soren leaned down. "You could say that, yes, old friend. You see, I have no problem with her. You and my daughter, on the other hand…"

Gabriel frowned. "Daughter… wha… Julie? She's…?" He could barely form a coherent thought- and then one of his first experiences with Julie came back to him. She had said her dad's name was 'Win.' The kid couldn't pronounce 'Gabriel' "She meant 'Ren'… she meant Soren…" He muttered.

Soren arched an eyebrow, then after another moment of shape shifting, returned and leaned forward. "Whatever you say, Gabriel. As I was saying, I have a great deal of respect for Alexandra-"

"Really? She doesn't seem to think so." Gabriel replied. He would admit he saw the punch to the face that followed coming.

"That's her loss. I respect her, which is why the fact that I'll be killing you soon enough breaks me a little. She wants to like you- wants to trust you- I can tell. I thought the drug didn't lead to its purpose, but it did."

Gabriel scoffed. Drug. Eddie. He and Soren must've been one in the same. "You know what I hate about you people? You always tell the good guys your plans."

Soren chuckled. "Oh? I didn't tell you how and where, did I?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Not really?"

Soren's smile just about matched Gabriel's teasing one, so the archangel knew something was coming. What he didn't count on was seeing the outline of an angel killing blade. He went wide eyed, reliving the very familiar situation once again and attempted to scramble back, only to not have the sword in his face a moment later. He let out a sharp exhale and looked around. Alexandra and her opponent were gone as well. Oh, no. Alex? Alex!" He barked. No response. The others. He headed for the outer wall of the house, and when he reached it, put his hand up to it, just to make sure he still went through inanimate objects. His hand went through the wall and he nodded, going the rest of the way through. "Roy, Hannah, Alex, Sam, Dean, Jules?"

"Living room!" Dean called. "…What's left of it, anyway."

Gabriel sighed in relief. Who would've thought he'd be happy to hear a Winchester's voice. He headed in the direction of the voice, then just stared at the damange- to the people and room alike.

Dean arched his eyebrows as he flinched in order to take a medium-sized shard of glass out of his arm.

Roy, who was tending to Hannah's own wounds, glanced up at the archangel. "Where's Alex?"

Gabriel shook his head. "I thought she was back in here."

Dean frowned, then looked around. "So… with the exception of the glass… everyone okay?"

"Yeah…" Sam grunted.

"More or less." Hannah replied, only to yelp when Roy pulled out a piece of glass from the heel of her hand.

Roy sent her an apologetic look, then paused. "What're we doing?" He looked up. "Hael! Hael! Get back here NOW!"

There were a few beats of silence, then Hael appeared. "What's-" The angel's eyes widened, taking in the damage as well.

Roy nodded.

Hael didn't need to be asked. He bent down beside Hannah first, running his hand over her arms and legs. The bloody nicks slowly closed and disappeared, and tiny pieces of glass fell from where the wounds would've been. He continued the process with the other four, then with a glance, the glass on the floor changed into sand.

They all looked at each other in silence until there was the sound of footsteps, then stumbling.

Gabriel's head shot up. "Alex?"

Sure enough, Alexandra stumbled through the archway, holding her shoulder. "I'm fine, Gabe." She looked at her family. "Sorry. Wanted to make sure that my guy was gone."

Gabriel scowled. "You're not fine. I saw you get your ass handed to you more than me. That's not good. You're probably dying from blood loss right now. Go ahead, blow it off as a couple of flesh wounds, but we both know that's not the case." He glared at her shoulder, and she sighed, .letting her hand drop.

The others hissed upon seeing the two blood-soaked section of her shirt, and Hael was next to her a second later, going to work on healing her. "You're always the worst, I tell you." He muttered, then looked at Gabriel. " Thank you for not listening to her."

Gabriel shrugged and winked, then paused. "So we all here now?"

The smiles that had formed on Hannah, Roy and the Winchesters' faces faded rather quickly. "No…"

Alexandra blinked. "So who's miss…?" She stopped, realizing who it was.

"Julie." The others replied.

"How…?"

Dean shook his head. "One of those bastards took her. We couldn't even try to get her back."

Alexandra swallowed hard, then knelt down, trying to formulate yet another plan. That was, until she realized someone else who was supposed to be with them wasn't there, either. "Oh my God. Jane." The others looked equally stunned. Alexandra bolted out of the house and over to the car, where Jane was. Upon seeing the woman slouched over with her eyes closed, she prayed her friend had only fainted and wasn't killed. "Oh God, oh God, oh God." She heard two clicks, indicating Roy had unlocked the car doors for her from inside. She flung the door open and climbed in, shaking her friend. "Jane, Janie, please wake up."

Luckily, Jane shot up a moment later. What Alexandra didn't count on, however, was Jane's long, high pitched scream that followed. She flinched.

Jane finally stopped, only to get her breath back, then, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

Alexandra just blinked at her friend, trying to figure out how she was going to talk her way out of this one. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to. As if that situation couldn't get worse, James' car came into view coming around the corner.

_Damn you, Murphy's Law._


	16. Double Vision is Finally Clear

Jane could barely even look her friend in the eye as Alexandra sat across from her. How the other woman could start blaming demons as the reason why Roy had fired a shotgun and there had been a pillar of black smoke coming out of the house then disappearing and all the blood and glass, she would never know. Worse yet, she thought it was a joke at first, but everyone else looked completely serious. The icing on the cake? James bursting in moments later, saying he had surveyed the damage outside and asked demon or something else right away. She whimpered and leaned forward, trying to get her breath regulated. She wanted to slap both of her coworkers she really did. It's not every day that you just dump that the fairytales and hokum that you heard of as a kid and teen actually existed. Thing was, at the same time, Alex's whole dumping big news on someone was something she loved about her friend. It made her honest and straightforward. She wasn't sure whether or not to believe the few facts that she had just found out, but she did trust her friends, and the others with them. Sure, they seemed… odd, but trustworthy all the same. She blinked a few times. No sense in staying on denial when she had just seen some things that already seemed impossible. "So if demons are real… are angels?" She practically squeaked.

Gabriel glanced at Alexandra, who looked guilty already, so he took over. "Yes. You're actually looking at one."

Jane blinked, then looked at Roy, across from her. "Wait, you're-"

"Me." Gabriel corrected. "I'm the angel."

Jane stared at Gabriel again, then remembered his name. "Oh, don't tell me I was spot on with the whole… are you… _the _Gabriel?"

Gabriel nodded. "In the flesh, more or…" He caught Alexandra's warning look. "…More." He glanced at the floor, refusing to lift his head.

Jane kept staring, then looked back at her friend. "Are you sleeping with him?"

"Wha-no- Why does everyone assume that?" Alexandra demanded. "Honey, he and I aren't even dating. It was just an easy way of introducing him as a normal guy so we could get you away from Eddie-"

"He's not normal!" Jane objected.

Gabriel looked up and scoffed. "Thanks,"

Jane looked at the arch. "I meant the fact that you're the archangel Gabriel and- oh my God, I'm talking to an angel." She folded in on herself again. "This isn't happening."

Gabriel opened his mouth to continue, then just gawked when Roy closed the distance between them and swatted his hand through his head, but not before checking Jane wouldn't see it. Roy motioned at Jane, then back at Gabriel, made the 'talking' hand motion, then moved his hands to imitate flying. The angel's eye twitched. "…Really? That means shut up because I'm an angel who's talking to her and that's what she's freaking about?"

Roy smirked. "Good. It translated fine then." Roy returned to his original spot.

Another awkward silence passed. It was almost too quiet, even for that, and that all changed in the next moment. Castiel appeared in the middle of the room, and all the work the group had done on trying to calm Jane down went out the window. She up and started screaming again, practically wrapping herself around Alexandra's arm as she took in the newcomer.

Castiel looked back. "Who is this?" He pointed at Jane, not yet phased at the fact she was screaming. "Another hunter that stays with you?"

Alexandra shook her head, using her free hand to cover her face. "No, Cas. She's just your average girl who works at a doctor's office who, until a few minutes ago, had no idea all this magical crap really existed."

Castiel narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, taking in Jane. He didn't look convinced.

Gabriel groaned. "Hael, can you take him away and explain everything? The poor girl's gonna have a heart attack if anything else goes wrong."

"Gladly." Hael hooked his arm around Castiel's elbow and dragged him away, as Castiel continued to stare at the other woman.

Alexandra turned back to Jane. "Now, honey, I know this is a lot to handle…"

"A lot… a lot to handle? Screw you, Jane! How could you keep this from me?" Jane demanded, but still stayed pressed against her friend .

"To avoid this from happening." Alexandra replied. "Look, it… it was better if you didn't, okay? It's less trouble to you if it came to that… and now there's really no choice but to tell you, as you figured by now-" She flinched when Jane slapped her arm. "Okay, I deserved that, but trust me-"

"It's in your best interest." Gabriel cut her off.

Jane pointed at him, then looked at Alexandra. "Does he ever miss the opportunity to talk?"

"Nope." Gabriel smirked.

"Gabe, leave her alone." Alexandra scolded.

"So now I'm Gabe again, huh?"

"Oh, go follow your brothers!" Alexandra scoffed.

"Make me, Sister." Gabriel shot back.

"Gabriel!" Alexandra glared at him, setting her jaw tight.

Gabriel snorted, but when Alexandra didn't stop glaring, he muttered something to himself and went after Hael and Castiel.

Dean watched him, then looked at Sam. "Dude, who'd a' thought? Gabriel's _whipped." _

"Dean!" Alexandra set her glare in his direction.

"Wait, I thought those guys were your cousins… his name wasn't Dean though." Jane finally had one coherent thought.

"Well, they're not. His name's Dean, that's Sam, and they're also in my family's profession." Alexandra replied.

Jane flinched. "I hate my life."

Dean snorted. "You really need to learn more about all of ours, then."

Jane whimpered something into Alexandra's shoulder.

A moment later, Gabriel came flying through the wall. He landed, righted himself, and went right back to the room the other angels were in.. "Come on, Castiel! I was joking!"

Alexandra shook her head, then looked back at Jane, who was now gawking at the spot Gabriel had flown through. "Do you want some alone time to process all this?"

"Did your boyfriend just…"

Alexandra decided to let that particular slip go. "Yeah, long story. That's kind of a side note to all that's going on." Alexandra replied.

Jane hesitated, then nodded. "I definitely need a minute."

"Sure. We'll be in the kitchen." Alexandra nodded, heading for the said room. Sam followed, and had to drag Dean behind him. Once they got in, Dean sat in one of the chairs next to the island, putting his feet up on the table. In turn, Roy backhanded his ankles. Dean let his feet drop. "Sorry, sir."

Roy grunted. "So, what's our new plan after this?"

"Our plan is getting away from here so this doesn't happen again." Alexandra pointed at the living room and what remained of the windows. She had always complained about his house being in the only seemingly isolated spot in town up until now. Not many people around meant there wasn't a cover story needed.

"Like Hell, you're leaving. I'm not letting any of you leave and walk into another set up like this one. You're staying- at least for the night. As far as I'm concerned, this is home base for now."

"Uncle Roy, I'm not letting your get hurt again."

"You think I don't want the same for you, young lady?"

The sisters flinched, and the men suddenly felt quite awkward just standing around in what had suddenly become a family moment.

"We can't just let this guys come to us. We still have no idea what they're getting at." Alexandra pointed at Castiel. "And this guy isn't helping with the whole I-can't-tell-you-anything-'cause-'It's a prophecy' thing." Alexandra replied, imitating the angel's voice a little too well at the 'prophecy' bit in Dean's opinion. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Castiel, who just spared one glance at her, then looked at Roy.

"Alexandra is right. This will not end well for any of us if we stay in one spot."

"Well, don't sugarcoat it, Cas." Dean scoffed.

Castiel frowned. "I figured it would be better if you knew your chances." He looked down upon seeing he got nothing but nasty looks in return. "I assume this is when I 'should shut up now.'" The chorus of 'yeah' that met him was answer enough. He leaned back, then watched the family members just stare each other down for a while.

After one final glance at Hannah, Roy leaned back in his chair. "Two conditions and I'll let you all go."

"Name them." Hannah offered.

"You stay the night here, just for more peace of mind for me, and then you check in every hour until this crap is taken care of."

"Deal." The girls nodded.

Roy looked up at the men and arched an eyebrow. "Boys? Angels- well, at least the one that doesn't apparently have duties upstairs he may have to attend to?"

Both sets of brothers along with and James, nodded.

Roy looked them all over once, then nodded himself. " Good. I don't want any tricks, either. You all better be here in the morning. I'm here to help protect all your asses, not have a heart attack from worrying about any of you."

"Uncle Roy!" The girls protested, more at the context of what he had just said than his concern.

Dean muttered something to Sam, who in turn nodded. The elder Winchester grabbed Castiel's arm and dragged him into the living room, and Sam and Gabriel followed.

Roy shrugged. "It's true. I'd be lost myself if I lost one of you two. You understand me? You guys have to look out for yourselves for my and your parents sake. Got it?"

"Yes sir." The girls muttered.

"Good. Now go make sure the guys aren't causing Jane more brain damage."

The girls went back into the living room and Roy went on his own way, probably to think about the possibilities of what could happen that night. They felt bad for Jane, seeing the girl just stare at the men- the angels in particular. Gabriel's conscience had come back again and instead of cracking jokes, he was sitting diagonally across from Jane, not saying a word. The others were on the last remaining couch.

"So… I think we should do watches." Dean spoke up, breaking the silence. "There are seven of us…all of us stay up 'til midnight, then start rotating? The girls, us, then the angels- I'll go again if Cas has to leave."

There was a moment's hesitation, then they all reluctantly agreed, but James, who took Roy aside to explain he had to go home to his family. Roy understood and let him go, but not before also asking him to check in. He agreed, then went on his way.

Dean nodded. "Right, then. We're in for a long night. Please tell me your uncle has cable."

* * *

Gabriel hated having his conscience back. He had had it milennia ago, and between being Loki and all the pranks as the Trickster, it had shriveled up and died, or at least went into a coma. Now it was back, and he had a feeling that the girls were to blame. He glanced at the clock. It was probably Sam's shift by now. Damn it, leaving the fact that they got attacked by Alex's ex angel boyfriend and him not saying a word was eating at him way too much. He had told her he'd look out for her, and not twenty four hours later, he felt he was going back on his word by not telling her that piece of information that just happened to be like a one ton weight in this whole situation. He growled and got up, damning his conscience one again. He headed into the guest room where the girls were sleeping. Once he was satisfied that all three were sleeping and he wasn't going to get jumped right off the bat, anyway, he went over to the bigger shape under the covers. He knew he wouldn't wake Jane, who was curled up, out cold in the chair in the corner, but he snuck in front of it anyway. "Alex. Hey, Xanie. Wake up." He frowned when she just twitched under the blanket, then rolled over rather quickly. He tried again. "Alex. You alive under there?" He flinched at how badly timed that was with everything going on, even if she had rolled over before. "Alex!" He hissed, a little louder this time. He swatted at the top of her head, then snapped his head back out of instinct when she shot upright. "Geez, Alex! Bad dream or something?" He smirked, but the confident look faded when she stared at him, wide eyed and panting. Oh, not this again.

Alexandra finally spoke up. "You're okay…"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "Clearly."

Alexandra turned around and pulled back the covers on Hannah's side.

The teen groaned and pulled them back. "The Hell's wrong with you? Go back to bed."

Gabriel didn't see Alexandra still looked terrified. "I need to tell you something, Al-"

"Not now, Gabe." Alexandra muttered, pushing her own covers back and swinging her legs over the side. She walked through Gabriel, which obviously set off the angel knowing something was clearly wrong.

"Alex?" He got up and followed.

"Gabe, seriously, shut up." Alexandra replied, hurrying into the living room. She looked around. "Where the Hell are Sam and Dean? They don't seem like people who would agree to staying and then just leave."

Gabriel shook his head. "Not at all. Care to explain what's gotten into you?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Heh, archangel, remember? Try me."

"…I don't even know, okay? It was… a really screwed up nightmare. There was just… this voice, and then the next thing you know, it's just all flashes of all of you dead and bloody- including you and Castiel. The last time that ever happened, I woke up to a demon about to slash my throat open. Where the Hell are they? Can you-"

Gabriel scoffed. "Not a chance- again. You start talkin' like that, I'm definitely not moving." His smile faded. "Besides, that nightmare have to do with… what I need to tell you."

Alexandra sighed. "Hold on." She went over to the stairs. "Roy! Sam! Dean! Castiel!" She called. When no response came, her heart sunk. "What the Hell is going on?" She went back to where Gabriel was watching her, then stopped when the door to the guestroom slammed shut. "Hannah! Jane?" She bolted over to the door and upon finding that it wasn't budging, threw her weight against it. It still didn't budge. "What the Hell?" She repeated, throwing herself against it. "Gabe, start talking. What do you know about this that I don't?" She kicked the door to no avail.

"The guy behind it." Gabriel replied.

"You know the guy behind… for how long?" She demanded, then looked around. "Castiel! Sam! Dean! Roy!" Still no answer.

Gabriel shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that this whole thing is on a totally different level of bizarre now, and it's-"

"Gabriel!"

"It's Soren, Alex. Your lovely, murdering, all around psycho ex is the brains of this operation."

Alexandra scoffed. "You just can't stop yourself, can you?"

Gabriel stared at her. "Wha- no!" He scoffed. "The one time I even try to… you know, not the time. I swear to you I'm not lying. I told you I wouldn't, I mean it."

"Uh huh." Alexandra sighed, then continued to look around, heading for the stairs again. Gabriel tossed his hands up and followed her, that was until they both froze, sensing someone else just pop up behind them. The arch knows perfectly well who it is, because its his kind of entrance. He turned and sets Soren with a glare, when Alexandra just turned slowly and sucked in a breath.

Soren offers a cold smile. "You don't give my brother enough credit, Alexandra. Poor thing only wants to help you."

Alexandra gawked at him for a while. "Bu-wha- I thought-" She looked between the angels, trying to figure out who to read, if that was even needed now. Her mind was already blown, what was the point? She turned her attention back to Soren. "You…" She was back to not being able to complete sentences._ Great. _

Soren chuckled. "I what? I'm alive? I'm back? There are too many possibilities." He shrugged, then disappeared.

Alexandra stepped closer to Gabriel, then let out a yelp when Soren reappeared, barely leaving a foot of space between them. The angel stroked her cheek. "You haven't changed much."

"Get away from her, Dickwad." Gabriel snarled.

Soren stopped, then arched an eyebrow at Gabriel. He smirked, then with a simple flick of his wrist, the archangel went flying through the house for the second time that day. A matter of seconds later he collided with something and therefore hit the ground hard. He groaned in pain, then felt himself get pulled up by two sets of hands. He looked up, seeing his assistants were Hael and Castiel. The Winchesters and James were behind them. "You guys okay?"

Dean grunted. "Basically. We heard you and Alex talking, got up, next thing we knew we were all here in… the shed? What happened? Who the Hell's in there? Alex okay?"

"Are you okay?" Sam added.

"I'm fine, pride's just hurt bad. Alex's lovely ex with super-angel- and I'm talkin' more than arch powers is, and for all I know, she's getting her ass handed to her again. The bastard just turned me into a rag doll again." He looked around. "Shit. Where are Roy and Hannah?"

"Don't know. It's just been us this past while. We've been trying to get out." Dean replied, then looked at James, who was attempting to kick open the door. "So, you think this is angel mojoed to keep us in?"

"Sure as Hell isn't there to keep him or anyone out," Gabriel agreed. "So clearly abusing the door and angel powers don't work… do we have a Plan F…or G, or H?"

* * *

Alexandra turned back to Soren after just staring at the spot Gabriel had flown through once again. She scowled. "What'd you do to him? Where is he? Where is everyone?"

"Safe, and they will stay that way…" Soren cupped her chin. "If you behave."

Alexandra yanked her chin out of his grip. "What the Hell happened to you? You put that nightmare in my head, didn't you? Why?"

"Had to happen to warn you of what will come if instructions are not followed." Soren replied. "I'm sorry, truly I am." He pulled her close again, and held her still as she struggled against him. "I missed you."

Alexandra managed to shove him off. "Yeah, I might've felt that right back if you didn't show me pictures of my friends dead and then tossed them who knows where, not to mention the whole creep persona you're pulling off just fine now." She tried to step back further, not to make a run for it, but just to put distance between them. She wasn't able to, and that scared the crap out of her. Soren stepped forward again, and the woman seemed to remember that she had the fireplace poker again. Alexandra brought it up to Soren's throat. "Stay the Hell away from me."

Soren backed off, just the slightest. What made it worse was that he was laughing. "Ah, Alexandra. My dear Alex. You really shouldn't have to worry about me harming you. Don't worry about yourself. That's someone else's job."

Alexandra frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Soren shrugged. "You'll find out soon enough." He looked down and swallowed, the edge of his skin just barely missing the point of the poker. "You just do as I instruct later on, and no one dies like that nightmare promises." He noticed her grip on the poker slackened ever so slowly and he flicked two of his fingers again. The poker dropped from its spot, but Alexandra seemed to sense what he was going to do, so she got a better grip so she was still holding it, even if she had lost the advantage. "So…" He advanced on her again. "Are you going to be the good girl I remember, or are we going to have a problem?"

Alexandra shrugged. "I have changed a lot since you last saw me, so let's go with two." She replied, then brought up the poker again and stabbed him.

Soren stumbled back, staring wide-eyed at the poker embedded in his chest, but his look of shock turned to another cold smirk a moment later. "So choice two it is, then." He pulled the poker out of himself and looked it over. The blood that spanned a good half of it disappeared in the next moment. Soren tossed it to the ground and looked at Alexandra. "For the record, I truly didn't want to do this to you." He disappeared, and Alexandra was tossed against the wall, much like Gabriel was, afterwards. Her head connected with it hard and she fell in a heap. Her vision blurred and there was a ringing in her ears. She couldn't get up and barely registered footsteps coming down the stairs moments later.

"Is everyone- Shit, Alex!"

Alexandra let out a groan of protest when someone picked her up, turned her over, then pulled her halfway into their lap. Her uncle's dark brown hair and bright eyes came across as smudges for a while.

"Alex, talk to me. Please, baby, come on. Where is everyone? What happened?"

"Don't… kn-uuughn." The back door swinging open and hitting the wall beside it hard came across as the volume of a close boom of thunder and she groaned again.

"Alex! Hannah! Roy! Damn it- Jane!"

"Living room, Winchester!" came Roy's reply. "Castiel, Hael, can one of you- thank you."

Alexandra let out another groan of protest when someone else lifted her head and kept it elevated, and then the pain everywhere started clearing. It was just about halfway gone when there was a feminine scream- just slightly lower than Jane's.

She felt her uncle start to rise, then Dean's voice, telling him to stay put. She was almost all back when Dean came back, almost too slowly, and Hannah was latched onto him, her eyes wide.

Dean licked his lips. "Uh… we have… we have a problem…"

Roy frowned upon seeing the young man's facial expression. In the short time he had known Dean, he hadn't seen that expression on his face. He looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be there. Everyone but… He stopped, then immediately headed for the guestroom.

Alexandra was finally back fully now, but she still had a damn headache. She didn't like Dean's tone or how fast Roy had moved, so she started to get up, despite Castiel's protests for her to let him finish healing her. With some difficulty she managed to right herself and head after Roy, ignoring the fact that Gabriel had gone guard-dog again and was right behind her. She got in, and instantaneously regretted following. Roy was leaning over Jane, whose eyes were eerily wide, and her neck was at an odd angle. She let out a whimper, not needing to see Roy's mixed look of sadness, confusion, and sympathy. "No…"

Roy frowned at her and bowed his head. "She's dead."


	17. I Watched You Cry

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Keep em coming.I don't own SPN or Jack Sparrow (you'll see..) , blah blah blah. Enjoy.  
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Roy sighed, closing the door in his room. The last couple of hours seemed days long. At first, they had no idea what to do. Once they all seemed to come to terms with what happened, Dean helped Roy wrap Jane up in a blanket. Castiel told them about the very faint possibility that 'something' could be done to alter Jane's fate and bring her back, but no one had an answer or agreement to the possibility at that moment. Alexandra had all but locked herself in his room, and Hannah was in the living room, sitting between the Winchesters. He wasn't worried about the younger girl, being that the boys and Hael seemed to be taking care of her. Alexandra, on the other hand, was a different story. She usually shut down when similar things happened, but this was a little too much. Sure, she let him come into the room and talk, but words were limited. He didn't like it at all. He set his jaw and headed for the living room to check on Hannah again. He stopped upon hearing the three angels talking- well, Gabriel was anyway, and the other two were muttering responses.

"Cas, I don't… I can't… damn it, the bastard's after me, not them."

"We are aware of that, Gabriel."

"I thought I was protecting them by staying around here, but that's as far from the case as possible, apparently. I… I need to get out of here- let Soren come to me-"

"That's far from wise-"

"Then what is wise, Castiel? Their friend just got killed for being around here. I'm not gonna stick around and wait for him to come back. This time it's gonna be one of you two or one of my girls. I'm not letting that happen."

Hael finally spoke up. "Well then, what's going to happen to _your girls_ or us when you're gone, hm? You forget we all knew Soren- knew who he was, and knew who he became. He's a monster now. You leave, he'll kill each of us, then find you and drag you back here to see the damage. When you're here, you get tossed around because he wants to play with you- show you what he can do." Te angel crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm just… sick of people getting hurt because of me when it's not my own work. One person worse than hurt is enough with you guys. I can't just… sit here and wait." Gabriel repeated.

Roy finally decided to let his presence be known, surprised that the angels hadn't so much as sensed him yet. "From what I heard, that's a lot, coming from you." He replied, stepping into view.

The angels turned to him, but made no response on his comment. "How's Alex?" They didn't ask about Hannah because the girl was just on the other side of the wall.

Roy shrugged and looked down. He seemed to contemplate saying something as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "She's talking back when I'm talking, but you all know her well enough by now. At least two of you do-. she doesn't really do well in the talking about feelings department. She's out of it. She'll come around- always does, but who knows how long it's gonna take." He turned his attention to Gabriel. "You try talking to her."

Gabriel stared, then snorted. "Me? If you haven't noticed, we're not quite buddy-buddy."

Roy shrugged. "But you obviously care about her- Hannah too. You can't deny that, 'cause we all heard what you said. You know, it may not seem like it, but after… this, you're just about her only friend now-"

"…Have you even seen us together? Whether it's seeing her and her reaction to what I said and you didn't hear, or from what you've seen now? She's not gonna want me in there." Gabriel said with a roll of his eyes.

Roy shook his head. "No. Then you don't know Alex. She doesn't do well with… non-family or non- business relationships. Thing is, you're more than business to her. She sees Sam and Dean as just business, for now at least. She likes you, wants to trust you." He figured Gabriel's responding flinch meant Soren had said something similar on their one on one time before. "Look. You've heard this crap before. Hell, you and Dean have both heard about the hunt that tore us apart- you heard it in full detail, as she tells me. You wanna know the last one who heard _all_ the details? Soren. It may sound negative, but it's saying something."

Gabriel looked back at Roy and sighed. There was a paternal concern in the man's eyes that he missed from his own family. He hadn't seen that look so strong in literally ages, and it got to him. " Fine." He stepped in the direction of the door, then paused. "But if he comes back and so much as punches one of you, I'm gone, for your own safety. No more arguments."

Roy just sent him a look that was now growing sour, then headed into the living room to see Hannah, and the archangel heard the Winchesters ask about Alexandra in unison. With a final cautious sigh, he headed over to Roy's room and poked his head through the door. "Knock knock."

Alexandra glanced up and sighed. "Hey. Roy's bringing in the big guns now, huh?"

Gabriel sighed, but shrugged and stepped through all the way. That wasn't a full yes, but it sure as Hell wasn't a no. He had a feeling there would've been some random projectile going through him at that moment if it was. He went over and sat down next to her, not saying a word. He always hated seeing people- fictional or not- ask how someone was or 'are you okay?' if something bad happened to or around the person being asked. It was a true 'no shit, they're not okay' moment. It looked like he had walked in on her after a bout of tears, too. He let the silence pass for a while, then broke it. "We'll figure out how to fix this, ya know. We'll get her back somehow."

"How?" The ever so slight teasing in her voice had gone. It was more like a croak now. She shrunk back and groaned.

"You have three angels on your side, remember? Chances are good that, I dunno, we can bring her back period, kill the bastard then turn back the clock with a few changes so she's fine and he's still in Hell." He shrugged again.

Alexandra stared at him, then looked away.

Gabriel frowned. " Don't tell me you don't want the guy to pay-"

"It's not that, Gabe."

"… What is it, then? Talk to me."

"You- this- it's not bad. Don't go thinking I'm about to go off on you. We've been over it. You've been mostly nice to me this whole time, and I can't stop being a bitch and comparing you to the guy… She flinched. "That just killed Jane because he felt like it, and…" She inhaled sharply. "I know you wouldn't do that, even if you have done it to deserving people and she wasn't deserving but…" She prodded at the bed with the side of her hand. "I'm just sorry for being a difficult, rude, complete bitch to you this whole time." She leaned back.

Gabriel followed her, flashing back to when they were in the same position in her home. "Well, oddly timed apology accepted-"

"I know, it's horrible. I'm horrible. This whole thing got me thinking and-"

"Would you give me a second to talk?" Gabriel scoffed, then realized sounding annoyed was a bad idea. She was trying to fix her mistake. "Sorry. Now, would you stop with the self hate? You keep sounding like the two only guys who have the right to sound that miserable, and they're under this roof right now. You, m'dear, are not a Winchester. I woulda jetted a long time ago if you were. You're not horrible, and in case you didn't hear me right back a few days- you're not useless, either."

Alexandra groaned. "Why're you so nice to me?"

"Are you really asking me after that whole thing? Because you're one of the few I know who deserve it."

"Just like Jane didn't deserve… this?"

Gabriel sighed. "Alex, stop. You couldn't have possibly seen this coming- and yeah, same way she didn't deserve it."

"No. I should've at least seen that keeping a person who's never been around this shit here-"

"Roy wouldn't have let you do that, and it's not his fault, either. No one could've seen this coming. Hell, if you wanna blame it on someone, it's on Hael, Cas and I. We shoulda figured Soren would do something to mess with our heads."

"_I'm_ the one who_ was in love_ with him, Gabe-"

"But you didn't know him, judging by our last talk."

Alexandra sighed and nodded in agreement, then let out a small whimper and wiped away a tear that had fallen. The action ended up proving worthless since more came shortly after that one.

Gabriel scooted closer to her. He usually sucked at trying to comfort people, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. "Come here,"

She let out a weak laugh when he put one arm around her shoulders, just about a centimeter away from them her back. "Really?"

"Shush. You're depressed. I'm allowed to be sappy. I take you wanna be alone again, so you gonna try to cheer up a little bit so I don't feel bad about leaving and checking on your sister?"

"Sure." Alexandra nodded, wiping back the tears again.

"Promise me you won't try anything stupid." Gabriel insisted.

Alexandra raised her eyebrows. "Gabe, you would think you'd know that I wouldn't do th-"

"Promise me, _Alexandra_."

Alexandra went from looking surprised, to unamused. "I promise,_ Gabriel."_

"Good, 'cause if you do, when I come back I'm dragging you back to the land of the living just to yell at you, by the way."

Alexandra scoffed. "Go check on my sister." She replied. "I'll be back out in a few."

Gabriel nodded, then got up and headed for the door.

"Hey, Gabe?"

Gabriel did a Jack Sparrow-esque turn and arched an eyebrow. "Mm-hm?"

"…I really am sorry for all my crap you've put up with from me… and… just... thanks -for everything."

Gabriel looked her over for a moment, then winked and clicked his tongue before heading back into the living room and for the teenager. He frowned when he saw she had taken to fold into herself more, if that was even possible, and was rocking back and forth. He walked over to her and squatted in front of her. "You want anything, kiddo?" He asked.

Sam shifted in his seat beside her, ready to get up if she agreed to anything.

Hannah shook her head after a moment. "No." She whimpered.

Roy sighed from his spot in the archway into the room. "Guys, give her some room, will you? Checking on her's one thing, crowding after what she's just been through is another."

The men mumbled their agreement and did back off, although they barely backed away a total of four feet between all three of them.

Roy shook his head. "Can I see you boys in the kitchen, if that's not gonna work?"

The rest just glanced back at Hannah, wondering if they should or not.

Roy sighed. "Hannah will be fine, boys; Same as Alex. The other two angels are upstairs trying to help us out with finding Soren and seeing about what we can…" He flinched, then sighed and went on. " do about Jane. You guys- Sam, Dean, you might as well get the Hell out of here. I'm sure Castiel will go with you for your own protection."

The boys shuffled into the room after him and all took seats around the table. Dean was the first to speak. "So… this was Hannah's first dead body, huh?"

Roy nodded. "Uh huh- well, maybe it's just her first… … innocent victim. I haven't been on many hunts with the girls, so I don't know for sure. I just know that my brother in law and Alex never wanted her out in the field, if you will, after they lost Nate."

Dean nodded and glanced at Sam. That outlook on everything sounded familiar.

Roy looked between them, sensing Dean was seeing a connection. "So… you boys want anything before you leave? Salt? More weapons."

Sam frowned. "Look, Mr-"

"Roy, call me Roy."

"Roy… after this… strength in numbers makes sense. We can at least make it a better fight if he comes back with reinforcements." Sam continued.

"But it gives them more people to look for in different places-"

"That they've all been to or around so far." Dean cut him off.

"True, but again-" Roy stopped when there was a knock on the door. "What now?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "So where's your stash of weapons? I'm not taking chances." He leaned down and got the knife he had out of his boot.

"Dean, they didn't knock." Sam pointed out.

"Doesn't mean they won't this time." Dean replied.

Rou tilted his head in agreement, ignoring the second knock. He went over to one of the drawers, pulled it out, then tapped the side, and a sliver of woof came out. He pulled a knife from the indentation, and the Winchesters just blinked, surprised but impressed all the same. Sure, the idea was tacky, but who would've thought of looking inside the untensil drawer- literally.

"Hello? Anyone there? Is everyone alright? It's James!"

Roy glanced at Gabriel, then shook his head. "No, now we can't use you for recon to see if it's really him."

Gabriel shrugged. "Sorry."

Dean blinked. "Did you just apologize?"

"Not now, guys, come on!" Roy complained, then opened the door.

James arched his eyebrows, then tossed his arms out. "Salt away."

Roy took the salt on the counter beside the door and did just that, and when nothing happened, the older man pulled the younger inside. "You can't stay long, but you might as well be briefed. This whole thing went to Hell all of a sudden."

James frowned. "What happened?"

"We lost one of us." Roy replied.

James' eyes widened. "Is Alex alright?"

The Winchesters and Gabriel all looked up, each with near-identical scoffs. No matter about them nearly getting killed, it was just about her.

Even Roy seemed annoyed that the man complained about just one of his nieces. "She's fine, just shaken up. It's… we lost Jane. Right place, wrong time."

"No…" James breathed. "Jane? Really? Oh no…" He ran his hand over his face. "How're the girls? Are they both alright?"

"They're fine- just torn up as Hell over Jane. Can't blame them." Roy replied, then glanced up when he spotted Alex in the entryway into the kitchen. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey." Alexandra nodded, leaning on Gabriel's chair.

James went over to her and bent to hug her. into the room. "Oh, Alex. I'm sorry."

Gabriel rolled his eyes when he felt what was definitely the bottom of James' elbow skim through his head as the brunette man hugged Alexandra. The others grimaced, and while Roy was completely sympathetic, there was a hint of sympathy along with imagining how awkward feeling an elbow in your head must've been. The archangel sunk lower so he could avoid the crowded space and waited for them to move.

Sure enough, James finally stopped hugging her and started to pull her into the living room.

While the others dropped the issue, Gabriel kept glaring back at the two of them.

"Gabriel… … … … Gabriel…. GABRIEL!"

Gabriel's head snapped in the direction of the company in their room. "Huh, what?"

Roy tapped his fingers on the table absentmindedly. "The boys are gonna head back to the hotel now. So… with all we said before, you going with them or are you staying here?"

Dean frowned. "Whoa, wait, what? Going with us? Look, we'll act civil, but there is no way I'm just gonna let him stay with us. Next thing you know, he'll put me in a time loop and kill Sam here."

Gabriel, who had looked back once again at James and Alexandra, turned back. "How many times have we been over this? That's over! I'm not messing with you anymore?"

Dean scoffed. " 'Scuse me when I don't believe that."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Whatever," He started to twiddle his thumbs, glancing down at his action

Sam sighed. "Dean, take it easy. I believe him. He can come with us if he wants." He replied.

While Gabriel just looked at Sam curiously, Dean looked at his brother like he had sprung another head.

Sam sighed, then looked at Gabriel. "Are you debating whether or not to get out of here so no one else gets hurt?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and nodded before glancing back to the girls.

Sam nodded. "Good enough for me."

Dean opened his mouth, then tossed his hands up. "I don't get it. I don't get it at all." He glanced at Sam, who was sending a bitchface his way. "You know what? Fine. Clean slate, at least for now, until you do somethin' stupid. Chances are you will, so this isn't gonna be long. Let me be the first one to say something with this new truce, because I'm about to blow a gasket at the fact that you're turning this into a chick flick moment here." He waited for Gabriel's attention to be back on him. "We get it, pal. You have the hots for Alex and what's almost yours is just plain yours. Thing is, if you had your angel mojo,you could kill 'em both just by looking at them. Who knows if your mojo will come back if this bastard keeps messing around-"

"That'd be why I'm looking at him and not Alex." Gabriel replied, still glaring at the other hunter.

Dean scoffed. "Come on, dude. This is just plain… out there, even for you." He waited for a snippy response, but when Gabriel kept glaring, he sighed and got up. "Forget this. This is getting creepy. I've had enough Gabriel for the day- for the rest of the year. Come if you want. I won't talk to you much, though."

"Give me two days." Gabriel sighed. "If something goes wrong, I'm gone, like I said." He said the last bit to Roy, who merely nodded- a little more upset than understanding this time around.

Dean raised his eyebrows, rising to his feet. "Okay then. Roy, thanks for letting us stay and helping patch us up before your angel friend came by."

Roy nodded. "You two still check in every so often then, you got that?"

"Yes sir." Dean nodded, extending his hand.

Roy shook it and nodded yet again, then shook Sam's, watching them leave out the window, only looking away when they reached the Impala with no problems. He turned around and leaned on the counter, glancing at Gabriel. He chuckled and shook his head when he saw the archangel was glaring James down from a distance once again. Sure, he partially agreed with the angel, being that James only seemed to give a damn about how Alexandra was (though he knew that it was how cozy James seemed to be trying to get with her that bothered the angel). But at the same time, he knew it was overkill and at least James was trying to console one of them. "Down, boy."

Gabriel looked at him. "What? You know, she doesn't look happy. Neither does he. He's probably making everything worse by talking about Jane in some depressing way. At least I got her to smile. I got her mind off. I made progress between us. I actually bothered to check on Hannah, too." Gabriel deadpanned, looking at the others.

"You made progress but you're willing to toss it out the door if something goes wrong and you just leave, even after telling her you'd stick around?"

Gabriel tensed and looked down at the floor, but said nothing.

Roy shrugged and sidled over to the other side of the kitchen, pretending to busy himself with tidying the counter. "Just for the record, I will take Joe's place, be the protective Dad and chase you boys around with a shotgun if one of you hurt her."

Gabriel let a genuine smile cross his lips for a moment. He knew that was coming. If it hadn't happened already, the respect for Roy he had lost before was now completely back. "I'll join you if it's this guy that does the hurting."

Roy returned the angel's smile. "And I didn't just mean if you up and leave. I mean in the future if we get outta this then something starts with you two. An uncle has to wonder, the way you look at her and the way you just got when James popped up. I'm serious. Hurt her in any way, and I will end you, angel or not."

"Oh hush, you."


	18. I Did Not Mean to Hurt My Little Girl

**A/N: Chapter description might as well be "Oh hai, Over-the-Top, Cheesy Drama!" Anyways, I don't own SPN, blah blah blah. Tell me what you think. **

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Roy glanced over at his sleeping company, focusing on his two nieces. Hannah had fallen asleep early on, and after breaking up a fight between James and Gabriel, Alexandra had finally gotten to sleep as well. His heart ached for his girls, even if it was blatantly obvious they were well taken care of by the others. Gabriel hadn't left either of their sides until about five minutes ago, in order to go around the property to see if he could sense anything by some stretch of the imagination. The older man sighed and straightened out a couple of picture frames that had gotten knocked off balance during the last struggle. He nearly snorted. Pictures of happier times- back when only half of the complete family was hunters. One was of Hannah, Alexandra and Nate, at the beach, taken at least ten years ago. The three of them were on a beach, and Alexandra had Hannah hoisted up in her arms. The girls were sticking their tongues out at the camera while Nate was watching them with a giant grin on his face.

"I miss those days."

Roy glanced over at the couch and saw Alexandra looking at him throug half lidded eyes. He sighed. "So do I, Al. So do I."

She pushed herself upright. "Where's Gabe?"

Roy nodded towards the window. "Outside, making sure we don't get ambushed again."

"He's alone?"

Roy shook his head. "No. Castiel and Hael are back and are patrolling around with him. So far, so good." He sat down. "Talk to me again. How are you doing?"

She snorted. "You kidding?"

Roy frowned. "Al, Hannah's barely spoken one word and you did your usual shut down. I don't care if I asked before. That's why they call it checking up. That's an uncle's job."

"I'm okay, Uncle Roy. Really, I'll be good as new… when all of this is over with." She leaned back.

"The angels offered to… bring Jane back after this ends." Roy announced after a moment of silence.

Alexandra nodded. "Gabriel told me… I just… I don't know. It would just be weird, I think."

"How? Your best non-hunter friend would be back." Roy frowned.

Alexandra laughed dryly. "I just had this conversation with Gabriel like, two or so hours ago."

Roy shrugged. "He's looking out for you, Alex. He doesn't like seeing you unhappy, same as me." He laughed weakly. "Hell, I should be worried he's doing my job."

Alexandra laughed, then sighed. "I'm gonna go check on him. Is he in the front, sides, or by the woods?"

Roy pointed towards the front of the house. "Careful. Play nice."

She shook her head. "…I think… I think we'll be good from now on."

Roy raised his eyebrows and nodded, looking rather impressed. "Damn. Must've made quite the impression with cheering you up."

The woman shrugged. "He did… and I looked back and realized how unfair I was being with him lately. Anyway, I'll go check on them." She kissed her uncle on the cheek, then headed for the door. She headed out, then spotted Gabriel pacing back and forth in the corner looking more bored than distracted by making sure nothing would go down. "Hey,"

Gabriel turned. "Hey, Pretty Lady. How's your sister?"

"She's still out cold." She crossed her arms over her chest. "She's… she's been through this, with seeing dead people… dead shells that demons used… never friends, though. I'm worried about her."

Gabriel shrugged. "She'll be fine. She's a Hennessey. You guys are just about as strong in any way as the Winchesters are." He rocked back and forth. "She just never inherited your stubbornness. That just might work in her favor."

Alexandra scoffed and swatted through his arm. "No fair. I apologized, didn't I?"

"Pft. Never stopped me from biting back."

Alexandra sighed again. "Alright. I deserve it. I'll give you that."

Gabriel looked at her with an expression that just about matched Roy's. "Ah, getting' more places. Good. I-" His smile faded and he looked around. "Head back inside. Now. Castiel! Hael!"

Alexandra turned on her heel and headed for the house again. She had learned the last time he sounded like that he meant business. She had barely gone three feet before something felt wrong. One, she didn't see or sense either of the angels pop up beside Gabriel. At least it was weird for Hael because she knew if anyone, angel or not, called for him, he'd drop anything and go. Two, the air had just gotten colder randomly- colder than it should've been, even in Winter. "The Hell…?"

She barely had time to register Gabriel making a beeline towards her before she felt something around her neck and her back hit something.

"Hello, Darling. Miss me?"

Alexandra let out a yelp and started to try and fight against the hand around her throat, recognizing Soren's voice. He had put a lot more strength in his grip than she thought, and she only succeeded in tiring herself out. She wanted to know what the Hell he was getting at by just standing there. She figured Gabriel was wondering the same thing, being that he had stopped a couple of feet away and was just glaring down the other angel.

"Let her go, Soren. I thought this whole thing was just against me. You have my attention with or without her." Gabriel snarled.

Soren chuckled. "Ah, my dear boy. You jump to conclusions so much. We can't have that."

Gabriel tossed his hands up. "What the Hell do you mean? You're just playing with us, here! Where the Hell are Castiel and Hael? What did you do them?

"That would be the point, son; and they're fine. Just in… suspended animation, for the lack of a better term. You have nothing to worry about I'm just here for her."

Alexandra let out a squeak when Soren pulled her closer, then hissed in pain when something thin scraped along her jaw. It was quick, but still hurt like Hell.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Soren practically purred behind her.

"Ask me when you find out for yourself." Alexandra replied, managing to bring her hand back quickly and return the scratch.

Soren snapped his head back, then chuckled. "Fair enough, Love." A moment later, he disappeared, and Alexandra dropped the couple of inches that he had just about lifted her.

Gabriel closed the distance between them. "You okay?" The question came out rough and he tilted his head to examine the scratch.

"Fine. It'll heal. My pride's hurt more than anything, like I've said before."

Gabriel nodded and straightened up. He seemed satisfied was the scratch was indeed just a scratch, no magic involved. Sure, he wanted to know why it was necessary, but he was more than happy to find out later on. He turned when he heard two familiar sounds of air whooshing around, then Hael and Castiel were behind them.

"Was he here?" Hael asked, not missing a beat.

Gabriel sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Just to scratch our girl- guess he forgot kitty's got claws and likes to scratch back."

Alexandra rolled her eyes playfully, then sighed herself when Hael set her with a protective look. She tilted her head back slightly and pointed at the scratch. "Right here. Don't worry about it."

Hael grunted, then walked over and ran two fingers over the scratch. "Any idea what that was about?"

"No, but I don't care, because now we have a way to find him if he forgot to cover all his bases… even if he did and this is a trap, let's spring it."

Hael arched an eyebrow in question.

Alexandra held up the hand she had scratched Soren with, showing the drying blood on the tips of her nails. "Like Gabe said, kitty scratches back- hard. This may not be much, but it's a start."

Hael nodded. "Right. Let's get inside-"

Alexandra frowned. "Oh, God. Inside- last time Soren was here…" She bolted for the side door. "Hannah? Roy?"

Before she reached it, the two she had called for practically stumbled out. "We're fine. He just locked us out, just like last time. Are all of you okay?" Roy asked.

Alexandra nodded. "We're good. Soren and I just scratched each other, that's all. I have his blood now." She went to step inside, then heard a loud crash towards the front of the house. "What the…?" She turned back, only to see Gabriel, who looked plain murderous, pinning Castiel against the front of the house. "GABE!"

Roy caught her by the arm before she could get closer. He shot her a warning look, and when she looked at Hael, he had an identical look on his face. Don't mess with angel vs. angel situations. That was what they seemed to be saying.

"What the Hell is going on, Cas? You obviously know more than you're leading on, so throw the 'angel business' out the window. I'm sick and tired of seeing these _good_ people get hurt over something that's just supposed to be against me! They don't deserve any of it! You've been with Sam and Dean too damn long to not care, Cas. Please… just tell me what's… expected, here." A moment later, Gabriel's anger just seem to drop and the fists that were practically imbedded in the angel's trench coat loosened. "Please… just… how much danger are they in when I'm here?"

Castiel stared at his brother for a while, then looked down. "It is not completely certain. It only speaks of a human female making the ultimate sacrifice. Whether that was Alexandra's friend, Alexandra herself, Hannah, or the girl, I cannot tell. I can only hope with all of you that it was the friend so no more blood needs to be shed-"

"Next to Soren's." Gabriel cut him off.

Castiel stood stock still and didn't respond.

Gabriel stared back, then looked down. "I'm done here. I need to leave. Let the bastard come to me."

"What? Gabe, no. We need you here to help us out trying to figure out what the Hell this guy is about."

Gabriel scoffed. "Alex, if you haven't noticed, he just hurt you. He took Julie, killed your friend before, and if we keep this up, you, your family or your friends. What's gonna happen next, huh? He gonna kill Hannah in front of us? Kill Roy? I'm not letting that happen." He sighed. "Not to you."

Roy coughed awkwardly, then looked at Hael, who shrugged. The human of the two looked around. "Who wants dinner.. .well, breakfast, at this rate?"

Hannah's hand shot up, catching the hint. She didn't want to see hr sister being fawned over, anyway. Roy led the way inside, then when Hael and Hannah were inside, he looked around. Someone was missing. He sighed, seeing Castiel staring down the remaining two outside, who were starting each other down as it was. Roy sighed, went over to the younger angel, and dragged him back inside the house.

Once she was satisfied they were alone, Alexandra sighed and sat down on the front stoop. "Why?"

Gabriel gawked at her. "Are you honestly asking me that? What did I just say? I don't want to see any of you get hurt or worse. Hell, he just popped up and I just watched. He coulda done worse to you, Alex, and I couldn't have done a damn thing. That's a mark against me and him. It shoulda clicked if he could hand me my ass, I coulda at least helped you out somehow."

"You were as stunned as I was. I don't blame you."

"I do," Gabriel shrugged.

Alexandra looked at him and sighed. "You beating yourself up worries me. It's not you."

Gabriel snorted. " Well, excuse me if I'm a little preoccupied worrying about you people to not be snarky."

"Hey, I'm trying to look out for you for once."

"Good, then you can relate to the spot I'm in." Gabriel countered.

"So that 'poor me' thing was a set up for that?" Alexandra arched an eyebrow.

Gabriel shook his head. "Yes, Alex. It was, because I'm the shallow dick that you continue to think I am, no matter… UGH!" He got up and walked a couple of feet before turning back to her, drawing his hands into fists . "I don't even… this is… do you even hear yourself sometimes? You could be A-OK one second, make someone think that they're actually getting somewhere with you, and then the next second you go for the jugular! What the Hell is it with you and trusting people? I'm trying here, Alex. You don't even know. We're a lot more similar than you think. We've gotten dragged through the dirt way too many times. You know what? I got passed that. I've dealt with people who I should hate or judge like Hell all the time. That hasn't stopped me from trying with the deserving people- like you, your sister, your uncle, your parents, Hell, I tried with the Winchesters after I pulled all the stops on them, and I got killed for it. It never stopped me, but you." He scoffed and waved his hand, not even looking at her anymore, so he failed to see the stunned, 'this isn't quite going in the direction it was supposed to' look she had. "Oh ho, you, no. It's just some giant 'I hate my life' ploy since your boyfriend left you and your brother and idol died in a fight. You know, that's a hunter's life. Somehow, that translates to you just having… no desire to actually let people who care about you in. You know, if you look up to your brother so much, then you actually might wanna rethink all of that, because from the stories I've heard about him from your uncle, sister, and even you, and just seeing the pictures, he might've been very disappointed in you." He stopped to take a breath and was about to continue when his brain finally caught up to his mouth and he registered his last sentence. His heart plummeted. Hell, that was what he got for running his mouth. Where had that even come from? That comment alone probably just shattered everything including the small good moments they had worked up to. He turned to her. "Shit, Alex. I didn't… I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. I shouldn't have…"

Alexandra continued to stare, and Gabriel felt like he would rather be on the receiving end of his own sword turned on himself then the mixed look of hatred, shock and sadness she was giving him.

The archangel flinched again. "Alex, I was just really angry with that whole thing, and-"

"Gabriel, just… don't." Alexandra finally found her voice, although it was shaking. "…Don't you dare say a goddamn word right now. Do you hear me?"

Gabriel walked forward. "Alex, really. I don't even… I can't… I'm so, so sorry. I know for a fact he wouldn't be disappointed. You hear me? I'm sorry. Just… let me take back those last few seconds, please? See me right here, apologizing. You know how rare that is for me? Way too rare. I just-" He stopped when his rapid apology was clearly just fueling the fire. "Alex… please."

"No. Just… no. Anger brings out people's true thoughts, and I just heard yours. You were doing just fine 'til there. You know, I meant absolutely nothing with what I said before your little rant, so congratu-frikkin'-lations, Gabriel. Consider yourself lucky that you're not solid right now, because you'd be getting the polar opposite of the scratch I just gave the other bastard. I'm done. You wanna go? Go." She motioned towards the street. "I'm sure Sam and Dean don't hate you as much as I do right now. Like you said, I've practically been here before. It's not happening again. Go away."

Gabriel went to step forward, then stoped. "Alex…"

"Gabe, please, just go. Do your original plan, anyway." Alexandra muttered.

As if he couldn't break anymore, her own break from anger into sadness did Gabriel in. "…Okay." He put his hands up. "I'm gone."

Alexandra clenched her jaw, turned on her heel and headed back into the house.

Gabriel flinched again as the door slammed shut, then looked up. "Idiot! You and your mouth, learn to shut it." He looked down. Hell, he would've gladly accepted the punch to the face or bitchslap that Alexandra had promised. His father knew he deserved it. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around, trying to figure out the route from Roy's home to the Winchester's hotel. Sure, it would take a while, but at that rate, what other choice did he have? He picked going right, and started on his way.

It took the archangel a half hour, but Gabriel managed to find the hotel. He would've been impressed with himself if he still didn't feel like an idiot. He spotted the Impala and decided to go see if they were in the only seemingly vacant room by it. "Sam? Dean? You in there?"

Sure enough, Dean opened the door, smirk planted firmly on his face. "Hey, Gabriel. You look like crap. Where's everyone else?" He blinked, then grinned. "Oh, you're alone, aren't you? Who'd you piss off? You in the doghouse?"

"Try _Hellhound_ house, Dean." Gabriel replied, walking through the young man to get inside.

Sam, who was seated in the corner, took in the archangel's appearance. Taking in Gabriel's answer to Dean's jab, He opened his mouth to ask what had happened, but the look the angel gave him shut him up. The last time he had seen that look, Gabriel had been glaring down Lucifer. He looked at Dean when his older brother closed the door and joined in with staring Gabriel down.

After a few minutes, Gabriel exhaled sharply. "…Why am I such a dick?" He looked between the boys. "Anyone? Anyone have an answer at all?"

Dean gawked, not at all knowing how to react at the angel complaining about something he seemed to take pride in. The hunter grunted and went over to the desk chair in the corner. He caught the inside of its leg with his foot, then sat down on it backwards. "Start talkin', Angel Man. What the Hell'd you do this time?"

* * *

**A/N: Totally sappy, I know, ha-ha. I flinched a few times writing it. Movin' on. Hope you enjoyed it, either way. **


	19. Obsessed, Depressed at the Same Time

Dean stared, slack jawed at the archangel that had just lay down on his bed fifteen minutes before. Gabriel had explained the whole fiasco of the last hour. Up until the angel's last three words on the matter, there had been a 'sucks to be you, but you deserve it' smirk on his face. Hell, he almost found it hard to believe the angel with the entire story, and then Gabriel said 'I hate women' before promptly attempting to bury his face in the sheets. All bets were off there. Gabriel hadn't sounded that serious since the whole ring of fire ordeal, and that comment just wasn't him at all. The older Winchester wasn't sure whether to laugh or let himself sympathize with the angel for once. He had been in Gabriel's spot one too many times himself, but… this was Gabriel, Egomaniac Extraordinaire looking like this was really tearing him up. "And… you expect us to give you advice?" He asked.

"Advice? From you Muttonheads? No. I just need somewhere to stay to give those guys space from my stupidity."

Even Sam looked uncomfortable at seeing the side of Gabriel they had never seen, so the nicknames were actually fairly welcome this time. "… How long do you think you need to stay?"

Gabriel snorted. "Probably until we kill this guy and most of us can live happily ever after until another big guy shows up in a week."

Dean frowned. "Seriously? We have a week after this guy's gone?"

"It was sarcasm, Pretty Boy."

"Oh, whatever, Mopey. Where are Snow White and the other dwarves?" Dean countered. "This is getting too Lifetime-ish for me, anyway. Three dudes should not be talking about this crap." He turned to the television, grabbed the remote and jammed his finger into the power button. He groaned upon seeing that the show that came on was none other than Dr. Sexy M.D. "Gabriel, knock it off."

Gabriel grunted in protest. "How many times do you guys need to hear my powers are messed up and just about non-existent? I think they have some weird connection to Soren or the kid. They're gone, so is everything I was getting close to doing before. I'm not doin' that. Some higher power just doesn't like you." He paused. "… More than usual."

Dean growled again and started to channel surf, only to find Dr. Sexy on three other channels. "Oh, come on!" He glared at Gabriel, then sighed when the angel didn't even have a satisfied smirk on his face. He still looked miserable. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"As a fire, yeah." Gabriel replied, then flinched at the sudden hurt look they had. "…Didn't mean it against you boys. Sorry,"

The brothers both arched an eyebrow. Not only was he depressed, but now apologizing for being himself? Dean sighed. "Dude, start thinking about what you're gonna say to her. Sunrise is in an hour. We're going back to Roy's so you two can settle this, then find a way to screw so she can stop being uptight and you can go back to being your jackass self because you're just scaring me now."

"I believe it was you who told me to bite you once, Deano. Let me say 'back at ya' now." Gabriel muttered. "It's not like she didn't try before, anyway." He added under his breath.

Dean's head shot up. "You know, what the Hell do you mean? That's the second time I've heard that? What happened?" He demanded, sounding more annoyed than curious.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gabriel countered.

Sam finally looked irritated. "If you haven't noticed Gabriel, we're trying to help you out here. Alex is our friend now, and… I can't believe I'm saying this, but… you're not… that obnoxious this time around. We… like it that way, and wanna keep it that way." He backed his brother up . "…And Dean's right. You being depressed is too weird to comprehend."

Gabriel snorted. "Alex isn't gonna be any more willing to listen to me in an hour, and I don't blame her. I was just plain stupid."

Dean sighed. "Then we'll talk to Roy and if he hasn't figured out how to tear you a new one, we'l l start with him."

Gabriel stared ahead for a second, then groaned. "Roy… I didn't even think of him. I'll let him hand me my ass at this rate."

"Would you just stop?" Dean snapped. "It really is getting too creepy now. Just sit tight and wait."

They did just that, and the complete silence that took up that hour and a few minutes just added to the awkwardness of the situation. The brothers were on their way out, trying to tune out a complaining Gabriel when Dean's cell phone rang.

Dean took the phone out then glanced at the caller I.D. "Freaky- it's Roy." He hit talk and put it to his ear. "What's up, Roy? … Uh… okay…" He glanced at Gabriel. "Wants to talk to you," He announced, then turned up the volume.

Gabriel flinched. "… I'm here, Roy."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end. "Good. Okay, Gabriel… we both know I have half a mind to find a way to go through with my threat before and hurt you for hurting Alex. We both know that your comment was low, but at the same time, I'm getting to know you and I know Alex. You don't know when to shut up, and she's… emotional as Hell. My point is that I'm not holding anything against you. It's between you two, not me. I'm saying that because the girls left for home a while ago, and I did some digging and… well, I found something that may be able to fix your… ghost problem. Get here as soon as you can and I'll see what I can do. Don't go thinking this is any set up, either."

Gabriel blinked. That was a lot of information to process, but he did. "… We'll be there in a few."

"Alright. See you then." The other line went dead.

Dean arched an eyebrow, then pocketed his phone. "That got us absolutely nowhere except a delayed departure. Let's go."

"Not so fast, boys." Gabriel shook his head.

Dean groaned. "Dude, didn't you hear him? The girls aren't there, he's not gonna find a way to whoop your ass. You're fine. Let's go."

"Not what I meant, Jumpy. I mean get all your hunting gear set in the Impala."

Sam shifted from heel to toe. "Why?"

Gabriel turned to him, then did the only thing that seemed normal for him by their standards- he smirked. "Roy has that kind of information for us and doesn't drive the ten, fifteen minutes it takes to get here? He calls instead?" The archangel snorted. "Please. I've known him days and I know it's not his style."

Dean opened his mouth to object, then stopped and raised his eyebrows, tilting his head. He had a point. It did seem like Roy would be on the side that did a little more work. "… Possession, you think? Or just our messed up version of gun-to-their-head-when-they're-on-the-phone?" He asked.

Gabriel shrugged. "No idea, but I'm not gonna just wait around if he's in trouble." Gabriel replied. "Now let's go."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Ten minutes ago you were digging your heels in that we shouldn't."

Gabriel shrugged. "That's when I thought I was keeping them safe by going away. If Roy's in trouble when I'm gone."

"Gabriel, it could be a trap." Sam pointed out.

"You think that hasn't crossed my mind, Winchester?" Gabriel snapped, then sighed. "Look, boys. I thought Soren would go after me if I left, and no more worrying about them. Roy and the girls called it- now he's playing games over there. I was wrong. I'm going back to stop him. You guys can come with me, or you guys can stay here and hope for the best."

The brothers looked at each other, then back at Gabriel before nodding and starting to get their weapons together.

* * *

Dean bowed his head slowly, looking over Roy's house. "Looks okay… maybe we were wrong?"

Gabriel grunted from the backseat. "Since when could you take has anything in your line of work at face value, Dean-AH!" The angel let out a yelp when something in the back of his head pounded. It took him a moment to realize that it was one of his angelic powers- his danger alarm as he called it. He didn't know why it hurt this time around, whether it was from not having it for a small while, or something was very, very wrong. He glanced up, seeing the brothers staring at him, surprise and confusion on their faces. "Something's up. One of my powers are back." He explained before passing through the door and heading up to the side door, ignoring the simultaneous "what?" that came from the others. "Roy?" He called. The pain came up again, although it wasn't as bad as the previous one. "Roy!" He repeated. No response again. He looked around. Things definitely didn't add up. He stepped back. "Come on, Roy… where the Hell are you? Please don't tell me it's just Soren using your voice or something." He frowned then he heard a low cough come from inside. He repeated Roy's name, then when there were a couple of more coughs. Gabriel looked around, not bothering to spare a glance at the Winchesters as they came up next to him. He walked backwards, trying to see inside the house. Once he got a good angle into the kitchen, he honestly wished he hadn't. Roy was propped up against one of the walls, and there was a large bloodstain taking up most of his stomach, due to the dagger sticking out of his stomach. "Shit. ROY!" Gabriel bolted for the door out in instinct, but what he didn't count on was slamming into the object and practically ricocheting back as opposed to going through. It took him a moment to realize that was even what had happened. He shook himself, then hit the door with the heel of his hand. It made contact again. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."

"Dude, what the Hell?" Dean demanded, finally coming up beside him.

Gabriel just grumbled something under his breath, then realized something. He had gotten one of his powers back, and now he was solid again. He stood back. Here goes nothin'. He threw his full weight against the door, and sure enough, the door busted open like it had gotten hit with a battering ram. Gabriel stumbled in as the wheels in his head started turning.

Roy's head shot up at the noise, fear in his eyes on who was behind it, but when he saw Gabriel and the brothers, he relaxed. "Christ. You guys actually came? Soren thought you'd… come… too late." He panted out.

Gabriel nodded. "You're welcome. Now." He knelt down, and chuckled weakly when Roy looked down curiously when the angel's knee brushed his foot.

"Gabriel, are you?"

"Yeah. I've been solid now for about a minute… had one of my powers back for two more minutes than that-"

Roy grunted. "…Those wouldn't happen to be angelic powers, would they?"

Gabriel frowned, having a feeling at what he was getting at. "Think so, but… I don't know. They all kinda mix together between what's angelic and what's Pagan. Where are Hael and Castiel?"

Roy shook his head. "…No idea. When that asshole stabbed me, I was calling for Hael, thinking his name, the whole nine yards… No luck."

Gabriel nodded, then looked down, trying to come up with a plan quickly. He glanced around, then spotted a book in the corner. "Dean, put your hands out."

Dean knew better to argue at that point. He did as he was told.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and a moment later, the book disappeared, only to reappear in the hunter's hands.

Dean stared down at it. "… Dude…"

Gabriel turned back to Roy. "Alright, Roy. Hate to say it, but I'm gonna have to do the… pagan god equivalent to healing, you got it? It may not be for long, but it may sting a bit."

"Just do it." Roy hissed out, flinching when he accidentally scooted down the wall about an eighth of an inch.

Gabriel tilted his head and offered a sympathetic look before he snapped his fingers again, making a wood rod appear between Roy's teeth.

Roy made a questioning sound around it, but it didn't take long for him to get an answer, because a second later, Gabriel pulled the knife out of his stomach and tossed it across the room. Sam, not willing to take any chances on losing a lead, got a dishtowel from the counter and picked the knife up with it. Roy moaned in pain around the rod, but after Gabriel snapped his fingers again, he relaxed because the pain disappeared.

Gabriel lifted the man's shirt and looked over the area the knife had pierced. No mark was present. The skin was clear. The only evidence that he had been stabbed was the blood on Roy's shirt. Another snap of the angel's fingers later, and that was taken care of as well.

Roy spit out the rod and let his head fall back against the wall. He panted, waiting for his lungs to get much needed air back into his system. A couple of minutes later, he looked at Gabriel. "Thank you."

Gabriel nodded. "No problem." What the angel didn't count on, however, was Roy punching him in the jaw a moment later. "Wow, ow, okay."

Sam and Dean just gawked, looked at each other, then shrugged.

Roy nodded, shaking his hand to rid his hand of the pain that resulted from punching the angel. "Good. Now we're all caught up. You saved my life and I did my duty as an uncle. Moving on."

Gabriel shrugged. "Fair enough. So what was the deal with Soren? Were you lying about the girls on the phone?"

Roy shook his head. "No. Soren must've been watching us the whole time- from your and Alex's fight to the girls leaving for their place. He came… God, 'round five minutes after I told you to come."

Dean put down the book Gabriel had snapped into his hands and crossed his arms. "So you had a solution for Gabriel being… solid, and then he's suddenly solid again?" he asked.

Roy shook his head. "Dean, your guess with that is as good as mine. My theory was a spell from that book you had there. Not some… will-work-in-a-certain-radius thing. It could be a trick on Soren's side. Be careful."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "That's the second time I've heard that. I'm fully aware of that, but you know what? You can't trick a Trickster. Now we have to worry about the girls. Where's your phone again."

"Corner of the living room on the liquor cabinet." Roy replied.

Gabriel went into the living room and found the said object, poking at the phone for a couple of seconds in order to make sure he could still touch it. He picked it up and brought up the contacts, then paused. Hell, might as well take care of Roy just a little more then call. He opened the liquor cabinet and found a small, half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. He brought it back into the kitchen and nudged Roy with it.

The man looked up, laughed, and took it, raising it in a quick thanks.

Gabriel nodded , then went back to the phone, hitting Alex's number.

After a couple of rings, the girl in question picked up. "Uncle Roy? Is everything okay?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Alex, no, it's not."

"…Gabriel?"

"Yeah. Donthangup." He forced out quickly when he could've sworn her voice got softer, indicating her pulling away from the phone. "I'm not calling for me."

"What is it?"

To Gabriel's surprise, she didn't sound as annoyed as she would. That was, until he heard Hannah in the background telling her to 'listen to him' and she 'obviously missed him because she seemed even more miserable now', to which Alexandra merely told her sister to shut up. Maybe he was wrong, after all.

"Gabriel, talk to me. Is Roy okay?"

Gabriel nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him. "He's fine. By some… miracle, I was able to heal him."

"What? How? What happened?... Are you-"

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Soren stabbed him. We got to him in time. As far as the healing thing, I'd rather explain later. Look, start putting wards up around your place, you got that? I was wrong. He's keeping up trying to get to you guys."

"O… Okay. Where are your brothers? Are they...?"

"I don't know. I'm worried as Hell right now for all of you." Gabriel replied.

Dean waved his hand to get the archangel's attention. "Tell her Sam and I are coming over to be backup. Stay here with Roy, just in case."

Gabriel nodded, then turned his attention back to the phone call. "Hey, Al-"

"I heard him. I'll go do the wards in the meantime… be careful, okay? All of you."

"Will do- and about before-"

"Gabe, we'll talk about it when this is over with." She replied. "Like you said, we both have work to do on our sides." Alexandra replied.

"Right. The boys are on their way." Gabriel hung up, then sighed.

Dean nodded. "Good. By the sound of how you were talkin', she doesn't wanna rip your face off. Moving on. You and Roy hang out, give us a call if anything comes up. Sammy," He nodded towards the door.

Sam nodded and with one final look at the other two in the room, he followed Dean out.

Gabriel watched them, then sighed again and sat down next to Roy.

Roy looked at him. "You think they're gonna be able to handle him if Soren comes for Alex and Hannah?"

Gabriel looked down at his hands. "You want the truth or a lie?"

"Have you forgotten that we're talking about my family's safety is in question, here."

Gabriel shook his head. "Then I have no idea what to tell ya. I thought knowing this guy … millennia ago would actually help, but… he's changed a lot over the years."

Roy nodded. "That's what happens."

Gabriel grunted in agreement. "I can tell you one thing, though. I think we have the best two sets of hunters we can on the case. Hell, if this goes wrong… I'm sure as Hell we go down fighting… for my and the boys, that's twice… well, more than twice for them, going the same way."

"…Great to know." Roy sighed.

Gabriel shrugged. "Roy, I don't wanna get your hopes up. As far as I'm concerned, after days, you and the girls have become my family- the family that I would've given anything for as opposed to the family that always tried to kill each other."

Roy smiled weakly. "Well then, that's a damn honor to hear that, and I appreciate both things you said… it still sucks."

Gabriel shrugged. "Never said it didn't."

Roy nodded. "…So what can we do?"

Gabriel shook his head. "The only thing we can do- the thing we've been doing: just wait and hope for the best." He shrugged, then remembered something. "Hey… did you get any leads with that blood Alex got from Soren?"

Roy blinked, also remembering that they had completely forgotten about a lead. "You know, everything that happened threw me off. I didn't get one yet, but let's go get one now."

* * *

Alexandra stared at her phone, then threw it down onto the bed. "SHIT!" She buried her face in her hands. This couldn't be happening.

Soren, who was leaning in the doorway, straightened out and walked towards her. "What's wrong, darling? Are they being their protective selves and coming to save you from well…" he chuckled. "Me?" He went to put his hands on her shoulders, then let out a full laugh when she turned around and practically launched herself to the other side of the room.

"Don't touch me! You stabbed Roy!" She demanded.

Soren shrugged. "I did not! I have the utmost respect for your uncle-"

"Well, Gabriel says differently." Alexandra shot back.

"And you trust him over me?" Soren asked.

"Hell yes! The only reason I'm not back there with him and the others is because I knew Gabriel was wrong about it being him that you were targeting! When you popped up and offered that deal that if I get him the Hell away from us, you would stop messing with my parents, uncle and sister! I knew I couldn't trust you- I didn't expect you to break the deal this fast. You stupid heartless bastard!"

Soren shrugged. "Well, darling, I'm just full of surprises. I thought you'd know that. But if you're calling me heartless, let's see who acted with those crocodile tears that ripped your man apart and forced him to leave. You know, Gabriel does have common sense… and a fair bit of attraction to you. You probably would've just batted your eyelashes and asked and he would've gone. No need to take his heart out."

"Shut up. Don't you dare even say that like you know him. He's a Hell of a lot better than you on all fronts."

Soren grabbed her arm roughly. "I'd watch your tone, love. You just play a small, easy replaceable part in this. Now, be a good girl and tell me who's coming to rescue you." His growing smirk faded a moment later, and turned towards the window. Another moment later, a gunshot rang out and the window shattered. The fallen angel let out a yell of pain and looked at his arm, where a bloodstain had started to grow. "Bastards shot me." He glanced out the window when he heard someone slam car brakes on. "Sounds like the Winchesters. Shame," He got a better hold on Alexandra, then with another glance at his arm, healed himself, and the bullet fell to the floor. "Let's go somewhere a little more quiet and deadly for your friends, hm?" He asked, though this time he didn't wait for her biting response. He just disappeared.

Right when they did, Dean had kicked down the door and barged in, followed by Sam. "Alex?" They called, running into the room they had seen the two of them in. "Not in here anymore." Dean reported.

Sam nodded and headed back into the hallway, going around after a few moments, he came back. "They're not anywhere."

Dean shook his head. "Time to make up a Plan B… if Gabriel doesn't kill us first." He took his phone out and dialed Roy's number. "…Yeah, Roy. It's Dean… we got here seconds too late." He flinched at Roy's defeated sigh. "We're sorry."

"…It's… it should be fine, Dean. Just get back here."

Dean frowned. "Why 'should be'?"

"Because Gabriel and I have a lead. Get your asses back here, and fast."


	20. I Won't Stop Until it's Done

Dean and Sam didn't bother knocking when they got back to Roy's. "Roy! Gabriel! It's Dean and Sam! Where are you?" Dean called.

"Dining room!" Roy responded.

The brothers headed into the said room, then arched an eyebrow when they saw Gabriel and Roy huddled over a map. In fact, the entire room looked like a bomb had hit it with the exception of the table and chairs the map was over. There was a small syringe sticking into part of the paper, and by the looks of it, it went through the table a bit, too.

Gabriel didn't acknowledge their entrance. "And you're sure this can't be wrong? It can't be… I don't know, used to landing around there?"

Roy shook his head. "Not unless my technique died off in the past two weeks." He glanced at the brothers. "Boys," He greeted.

"We're sorry-"

"I told you it's okay. Let's focus on getting them back. Now, I just heard you boys say Alex. Was Hannah around?"

Sam shook his head. "We would've told you if we did- she would've been here if she was."

Roy bit the inside of his cheek, then nodded. "Alright, get over here. We found Soren- where he is, anyway."

The brothers bolted over to the table. "Where?"

Roy sighed. "Square one for you guys- where you really met Alex and Gabriel-"

"The doctor's office?" Sam arched an eyebrow.

"No. I meant 'really met ' as in 'Oh, hey, we're all hunters- and one angel, isn't that ironic.' I meant the prison." Roy tapped his finger on the map where the needle was. "We've tried 3 different maps, getting closer with each one. This is the place."

Dean shrugged. "Makes sense. There was that sigil there. We just didn't think much of it since we weren't thinkin' fallen angel… freak." He replied. He fought back other questions. There were three lives in imminant danger- five, counting the angels. Now wasn't the time to talk.

Roy nodded. "So… when are we all piling in the car?"

Gabriel snorted. "Roy, that hurts."

Roy blinked at the archangel, confused, then closed his eyes. "Right. Forgot you had some powers back."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, then raised his hand.

Dean waved his hands. Deciding that perhaps two things did need to be explained. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! We're going in there unarmed? Filling us in on the plan would be nice!"

Roy opened his mouth, but Gabriel moved his fingers so they were no longer ready to snap, but straight up so he was giving Roy the signal to be quiet. "I got this one. Alright boys, the plan… we can't tell ya, really. You guys just gotta keep whatever Soren has for us busy when we get on our jobs. Got it?" Dean and Sam looked at each other, then back at Gabriel and opened their mouths to protest. Roy took back his turn to talk and moved the map so the edge wasn't over the table. He pointed at the chest that was under it. "Take your pick and you should be fine."

Sam looked between everyone else in the room and bent down, unlatching the top of the crate. He stumbled back when the side fell open with the top. When the light hit the contents of the box, various weapons ranging from knives and guns were shown.

Dean gaped at it for a while. "…This… is in your dining room?"

Roy shrugged. "Hey, what's one place any baddie wouldn't expect weapons?"

Dean looked up at Roy, then swung one arm around the older man's shoulders and poked his chest. "I think I love you." He turned his attention back to his dream Christmas present and let his hands drop. "… So we just protect your asses the whole time? No chanting, salting, drawing, nothing?"

Roy shook his head. "Eh, maybe salting, but otherwise, right you are." He shrugged. "It's all Gabriel and I… and we're not telling you. This needs to be precise. Hell, when we start this up, a look from you guys in our direction could cost us."

Dean shrugged, bending down to see the spoils. "Works for me. Sammy, I call the elephant gun, and the pistol and two big ass knives in the right corner." He went in for his prizes, and Sam in turn got a few of his own. "Alright. Let's go kick some ass."

Alexandra knew that following Soren around insulting him nonstop wouldn't end well. She just didn't expect the part of the floor she was on to drop right out from under her when he turned a corner a couple of feet ahead of her. She hit the ground hard and coughed as dust came up. A moment later, it cleared rather quickly- too quickly to have naturally cleared, anyway.

"It's Alexandra."

She turned towards the familiar voice, and sure enough, there was Castiel, Hael, and Hannah in the corner. "Thank God, you guys are okay!" She breathed, getting up slowly, hissing in pain. She got a better look at all of them. She hadn't seen the angels since she and Hannah left Roy's, and Soren had taken Hannah as leverage for her making the phone call to Roy's. "You guys _are _okay, right?"

Hannah opened her mouth, but Castiel motioned for her to stop. "We don't know it's really your sister."

Alexandra frowned. "Excuse me? Of course it's me! What the Hell is wrong with you?"

Castiel didn't look convinced. "Prove it."

Alexandra frowned. "If you guys don't trust me, can't you just slap my forehead and all my secrets are gone? What're you guys going on about? It's me!" She threw her hands out.

Hael frowned, then bent down and picked up one of the pieces of stone that had fallen with her. He ran a finger down the rigid edge, then tossed it to her. "Then you won't mind cutting yourself to prove it."

Alexandra scoffed. "What?"

Hannah straightened out. "Just do it."

Alexandra looked at her sister, then at the angels, then back to the stone. She arched an eyebrow, then used it to cut her arm, making it shallow enough to bleed but not cause too much pain afterward. She poked at it so the thin line of blood was more visible, then looked back at her friends. "Satisfied?"

Hael and Castiel looked at each other, then nodded. "Forgive us. There's just… Soren's made a copy of you… came in and showed us who was boss before your sister got here." Hael replied. "That's why he cut you. Needed the blood…Scared your girl Julie half to death, too."

Alexandra's head shot up. "Julie's here?"

Hael nodded, then nodded towards the far wall, where she hadn't even registered there was another cell, separated by bars. Sure enough, Julie was there, huddled in the corner. The girl was staring at her with wide, frightened eyes.

Alexandra let out a short breath. "Jules!" She ran over to the connecting wall and let out a disbelieving laugh. "Oh, thank God, you too." She bent down and frowned when Julie seemed to press further against her wall to get away, even if she was around six feet away as it was. "Jules, baby, I promise it's really me. You can trust me." Her frown deepened when the girl didn't move. She relaxed and thought for a moment. "Did you hear the angels? They said it was really me." She said.

Hael got up and went over to the wall. "It is her, sweetheart. She wasn't the one who yelled at you. I know it's hard to understand, but you can trust her. Just not the other one- not the one wearing purple." He offered.

Alexandra sent him a grateful look, then looked at Julie. "Honey, what about that thing you said when we first met, huh? That I had that blue color around me? Did I have it before?"

Julie hesitated, then shook her head.

Alexandra nodded. "Do I have it now?"

Julie nodded now. "… Yes."

Alexandra laughed weakly. Good. She got a word out. "Jules, I swear it's me. Come here. I want to make sure you're okay… did… did that lady who looked like me hurt you?"

Julie shrunk back again, but nodded all the same.

Alexandra flinched. "Crap…" She ran her hands over the bars, trying to think of another approach if her copy did in fact hurt her. Sadly, she didn't find anything. "We're gonna get you out of here, sweetheart. I promise you that. Somehow we're gonna get out, and then you can come back to my house again, and… I'll make more cookies for you, okay? You liked when Uncle Gabriel and I did that for you, right?"

Julie perked up, and to Alexandra's surprise, it was at 'Uncle Gabriel' as opposed to 'cookies' or 'get you out.' "Where's Uncle Gabel? Where's my angel?"

Alexandra's smile faded. She should've seen that one coming. "I don't know, Sweetie. He's just… not here right now."

Julie frowned. "… Oh." She leaned back and whimpered. "Daddy was right. He doesn't wanna see me. He never liked me."

Alexandra clenched her jaw. There was another tally for number of punches she was going to get in before Soren was killed. "What? Jules, no! Of course he wants to see you! He wants to be here so he can save you, too!" She licked her lips, an idea forming in her head. "He sent me back here so he can make an entrance. You know how he likes to make big entrances, don't you?"

Julie sniffled, then nodded.

Alexandra nodded back. "Good. Don't ever go thinking that Uncle Gabriel doesn't like you, even if Daddy says so. Gabriel loves you, you hear me? He usually doesn't like kids, but you, you adorable little thing, you broke him. You stole his heart right out from under him."

Julie stared at her for a couple of moments, then ran over to the woman and hugged her as best she could through the bars.

Alexandra put her arms around the girl in return. "You're okay, baby. It'll work out." She stroked the girl's hair. Now she just hoped that the others did come, even if she had a feeling it wouldn't end well. She looked at the other angels. "Is there anything you can do?"

"No. Soren has a block up that keeps powerless- and locked in." Castiel replied.

"So we can only wait and see…" Alexandra sighed.

"Essentially, yes." Castiel nodded. "Have you been in contact with your Uncle, Dean, Sam or Gabriel?"

"I got Gabriel on the phone minutes before Soren came to get me… he said the boys were coming to help me out at my place… must've just missed them." Alexandra replied.

"Then they'll be here." Hael cut in. "Roy won't go down without a fight if you two are involved, and I'm sure the others won't either."

Castiel nodded in agreement. "They've never gone without one, and Gabriel died fighting."

Alexandra shot him a 'you've got to be kidding' look, but when she saw Julie didn't seem to register Castiel's comment, she relaxed. That was, until the door in the hall burst open. Alexandra just gaped when she saw it was her that went through the door. She realized it was the copy of herself that the others had mentioned. "Jules, get back." She nodded at the far corner. The girl knew better than to disobey the lady who had never sounded so serious, so she hurried to the back corner. Alexandra turned her attention back to her copy. "Well, I always thought purple was never my color."

Her copy returned the smirk that followed up the comment. "I think you and I need to have a big girl talk, huh?"

Alexandra shrugged. "I'll skip- AH!" She hissed in pain when she got slammed against the cell wall by an invisible force.

"Now," Her copy snarled, and then with a wave of her hand, the door opened.

Alexandra straightened out. "Promise me you won't hurt any of my friends anymore and I'll go." She didn't believe her mirror image would really keep to her word if she agreed, but it was worth a shot.

"Fine." Her copy shrugged.

"Good," Alexandra headed for the door. She spared one glance at the others , then headed out of the cell. She merely rolled her eyes when there was a light force on her back practically shoving her through the other door as it was. Once they were both through, she felt the force leave her back. She turned on her heel and threw a punch at her copy, only to have her copy block it.

"Oh, we can't have that." Her copy replied.

"What was the point of bringing me down there? Let them all go. They'll listen to me if I tell them to back off. At least let Julie go."

Her copy scoffed. "My daughter is just fine here."

Alexandra's jaw dropped. "Your what…?"

"You heard… well, you, just fine, sweetie." Her copy replied. "The kid's mine- ours. My hair and eyes- your hair and eyes in the kid-"

Alexandra scoffed. "Please. They're more like…" Her smile faded. Soren's- and a copy of her. Her stomach dropped- not of jealousy or anything, more more of the imagined possibilities. Hell, it made sense now. She wondered why she, Roy, Hannah, hell, even Gabriel hadn't seen it before. "…What kind of kinky shit…?" Her comment was cut off when she felt her copy's hand go around her throat. Not this crap again.

Her copy advanced on her, then stopped in mid stride and tilted her head. She smirked a moment later."You know, I would love to explain every single detail and tell you about how much being a polar opposite of your modest little works out better for you- heh, us, but… your other friends are here to come to everyone's rescue. Soren's orders, I have to stop them. I, unlike you, am open to someone else taking the reins."

"Yeah, not quite my thing." Alexandra shrugged, then went for another punch to her copy's face, but her copy disappeared right before it could connect. "…Well, that is definitely not good."

* * *

Gabriel took in the dreary, musty-smelling room a moment after they all appeared in it. "This looks like the place."

Roy looked around. " 'Cause it is."

Gabriel looked at him. "You all set to go?"

Roy nodded. "I think I can figure this place out well enough. I'm all set with the supplies."

Gabriel patted his shoulder blade. "Good. Get going, and if anything comes up, you call as loud as you screamed when I took that knife outta you."

Roy sent him a warning look before heading off down one of the hallways.

Gabriel turned to the boys. "Alright boys, you're with me for now. Let's go… this way, this time. He's going down, we're headed up-"

"I thought you said he could be anywhere." Dean pointed out.

"I did. I'd say try going from the bottom down." Gabriel replied.

"Why that way?" Sam asked.

"Come on, Sammy. This guy's ego's as big as mine. You'd think he'd wanna be on top, don't ya? Looking down on everything and everyone?"

Sam shrugged. Maybe he'd let that 'Sammy' slip just for the idea. The guy had a point. It would probably end up being totally wrong, but it was worth a shot.

Gabriel jerked his head towards the hallway again.

The brothers nodded and followed him down the hallway, then up a flight of stairs.

Dean looked around, then up, noticing a sloping ceiling, indicating another flight of stairs above them. "…Did this place have three floors before?"

"No, and that's starting to worry me." Gabriel replied.

"Is it just starting to worry you now, or has it been bothering you, because you're oblivious if it just started." Dean replied.

Gabriel just grunted, then got to the top of the flight. "Alright… this seems high enough already. If I was a raving psychopath- keep your mouth shut, Deano- where would I hold up waiting for my enemies to get me?" He muttered, turning to the other door, then the next staircase.

Dean glanced around as well. "You wanna split up? I'm fairly sure we can yell louder than Roy, and if Cas is around upstairs, he'll come for backup-" He heard footsteps behind him and whirled around, pulling his pistol out. "Then again…"

James came into view at the base and went wide-eyed when he saw them, and lowered his own handgun that he had. "Christ. Where the Hell have you guys been?"

Gabriel frowned. If warning flags weren't up before, they were definitely up now. "Jimbo? How'd you know we were here?"

James scoffed. "You know, I'm a hunter, same as your friends. You think I've not seen enough of this crap in my day that I can't use connections to pick up an angel's trail?"

Dean and Sam looked at Gabriel. "Believe him?"

Gabriel snorted. "Nope."

The brothers nodded. "Us either." They raised their weapons. "Angels trails are only able to be seen by other angels and a few demons here and there, asshole." Dean replied.

James's frown deepened. "What? The connections have experience!"

Gabriel moved in between the brothers. "Wow. That mighta worked… we might've even fallen for that one…" He shrugged. "If I even had my angelic powers back. I just have the Trickster's, pal." He snapped his fingers and a moment later, James was literally chained to the wall beside them. Gabriel advanced on him. "You know, Alex really, really likes you, so I'm gonna ask first, destroy you later. What has Soren promised you, huh? Did you sell out the girls for some amount of money, power? Did you sell us out as opposed to the girls?"

James look of confusion and fear was replaced by one of sheer arrogance. "Now why would I do that when I could just kill you without any selling required?"

Gabriel frowned, trying to sort out what the Hell was going on, then realization hit. "Soren..." He snarled.

James winked, then sure enough, morphed right back into Soren himself. " I was honestly starting to wonder if you lost your touch over these few days. You didn't even consider it."

Sam was not at all thrilled that the same trick had been pulled on him twice now. He didn't care that the original performer was on his side now, at least for the moment. He advanced a couple of steps.

"Sam, no." Gabriel warned him, and Sam did fall back. Gabriel grabbed the front of Soren's jacket. "How long, asshat? How long have you been playing us? Is the real James still in there, or is he being held prisoner somewhere else?"

Soren chuckled. "Enough to know that the boys should worry about how emotionally compromised you can get with the girls- namely Alex, and... the rest is for me to you know and you not to, my friend."

Gabriel frowned yet again when he heard a finger snap that clearly wasn't his, and before he knew it, his fists were curled in the air and Soren was gone.

After a few moment s of silence, Dean spoke up. "Dude… did he just out-Trickster you?"

Gabriel kept staring at the spot where Soren had been. "Yes he did… and that means we are royally screwed. You know, I like the splitting up idea. It keeps you boys outta trouble. Look for the others." He didn't wait for either of the boys to object. He just snapped his fingers and sent them back to the ground level- or what he thought and hoped was the first level, anyway. If Soren was a classics kind of man, his prisoners would be on the first level, where he and Alexandra and… James- well, Soren's interpretation of James, if he had to guess, had been thrown. He went back to his original task before James' big reveal had happened. He pulled open the door to his left and practically flung himself through it. If Soren wanted to play, then they would play. His anger depleted quickly and had to skid to a halt when he realized the path that the door opened to just ended about three feet away from the door. He caught himself and stared down. He simply gawked. What he thought was the second floor was now what looked like the thirtieth. There was nothing but stairs, doorways, paths and walls below him for stories and stories. Basically, a medieval castle gone to Hell. Yes, this was definitely going to get tougher than he thought. He hoped Roy was having better luck than he was, even if it seemed unlikely. The same with the Winchesters. If he thought he sent them to where the first level was, then where the Hell were they, now? He swallowed hard to collect himself, then turned back and went through the door again.


	21. You're Not Even There

Gabriel had to grab hold of the wall for the fourth time in five minutes to avoid falling off yet another trick staircase and waved his arms around to avoid plummeting down from the edge. Sure, landing after a fall couldn't really hurt him, but the simple idea wasn't pleasant. He turned on his heel and returned to the door that was his plan B. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy was actually M.C Escher, too…" He muttered to himself, then opened the door, slamming it shut when he saw it was more of a very small closet than anything. "Damn it! Now where was plan C?" He backtracked again and eventually found the other door he had labeled Plan C, which led to a hallway with about ten different doors. "Oh, I am SO going to enjoy kicking his ass." He muttered. He went into the hallway and was about to pick a door when one flung open and something collided with him- rather, someone. "… Alex!"

Alexandra gawked at him for a second after stumbling back from the collision. "Gabe!" She breathed, then launched herself at him and threw her arms around his neck.

Gabriel stumbled back as well, hitting the wall hard. He grunted, then looked back at her, deciding to ignore that the action just seemed wrong. "You okay?"

Alexandra didn't answer. She just kept looking at him, stunned that she had even made physical contact.

The archangel blinked. "Oh, right, you didn't know…"

Alexandra laughed weakly. "How… when? After we left?"

Gabriel tried not to squirm. The warning bells were back. He kept ticking off things that were wrong. She just tossed herself at him. Took the whole solid-again thing in strides, No complaint or slap or anything for actually coming to rescue her and Hannah and risking everyone's lives. The real thing would've completely ignored he was solid again and went right to the 'stupid plan' thing. There wasn't even the feeling of familiarity he had started to get whenever she or one of her family members were in the room. Not to mention this Alex looked like she had gone through the ringer. If he had figured anything from Soren's latest behavior, it was that he wasn't joking when he said he wouldn't harm the Hennesseys. When the fallen angel had scratched Alex, it seemed more of a warning to the angels in a fit of desperation. He had only seen Soren touch her gently- never tight enough to harm her in any way. Something was definitely off. He sighed. Like he had said earlier, if Soren wanted to play, he'd play. "You don't look good. Did Soren hurt you-"

"Who else?" Fake Alexandra replied. "What about you? Are you alright?"

She cupped his cheek and once again, he had to struggle not to roll his eyes. So much for research. He should've remembered Alexandra wasn't the touchy feely type- physically or mentally. "Yeah, I'm fine… Xanie."

Fake Alexandra sighed, but more out of relief than reaction at the nickname, thus item that was wrong number fifteen. "Good. Look, Gabe, about when I yelled at you-"

Gabriel tried not to snort. While Soren seemed to do his research, apparently his copies of people didn't. There was no way it was her now. He hoped the Alex in front of him was just a copy and his friend hadn't been reduced to a vessel for a goon. "Don't worry about it, Al .Especially now. It's in the past. Let's just find a way outta here, because that's what's happening n-ngn!" Gabriel went wide eyed when she practically shoved him back against the wall and kissed him. _Definitely _not Alex._ Now what? Play dumb and horny. Nothing new_. He growled and turned them so she was against the wall, returning the kiss. It felt wrong on so many levels. He felt her prod at his chest and pulled back. When she smiled and went to pull him back in, he put his arm across her collarbone and pinned her to the wall with it, stepping back himself. "Not so fast, Sweetheart. Where. Is. Alex?"

Fake Alexandra blinked innocently then arched an eyebrow. "What the Hell are you talking about, Gabe? It's me."

Gabriel snarled and his hand shot up to her throat. He shoved her further against the wall and heard the back of her skull connect with it hard. He looked her in the eye. "You clearly think I'm dumb enough to not pick up the things that don't make you her. Not to mention I'm really sick of having this happen when she's either drugged or someone is just wearing her face. Where is she? Where's the real Alex?"

Fake Alexandra stared at him, fear in her eyes but it faded quickly. Her smirk was back. "Huh. Soren was confident you'd at least have me half naked by the time you realized I wasn't your precious little Alex…" She smiled and ran her foot along the back of his thigh.

Gabriel scoffed and managed to kick it off . " Well, Soren's underestimating me. Now where are she and the other girls?"

The arrogant smirk was back for a moment. She glanced up at one of the ledges.

Gabriel tightened his grip on her throat figuring it was a fluke. "Answer or I swear, I will not show the ounce of mercy I'm considering for you."

"Shit, Alex! Sam, get him!"

Gabriel froze, hearing a door swing open above them, then the Winchesters shouting- and then 'him' registered. They thought he was the fake. That wouldn't end well. He still made no move to release Fake Alex, even when the boys reached his level and ran over.

Fake Alexandra just smiled one last time, winked at him, then disappeared.

Gabriel just kept staring at the spot, even upon hearing a familiar yelp of alarm, then a fair amount of weight collided with him. He turned to see Sam stumbling back, using his arm to steady himself. "Shit, Gabriel. It's really you." Sam sighed.

Gabriel tilted his head. "What do you mean really…?" He frowned, thinking of a possibility. "Don't tell me there are two or more of me walking around, too."

Dean came up beside them. "Hell yeah. Nearly took my damn head off when you zapped some giant pillar to fall on us." He sighed, looking at where Alexandra had been. "And now there are apparently two Alexs, too. Great."

"You boys should be fine. It's Alex, Hannah and I he wants to mess with. Not you two." Gabriel replied.

Dean scoffed. "Clearly you didn't hear that fake you just tried to kill us."

Gabriel shrugged. "Distraction. Did my copy get away like she did?"

"No…" Sam replied, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Gabriel looked at him. "The Hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Means we stabbed fake you in the throat." Dean replied.

Gabriel laughed. "So you killed my copy and still thought I was the copy just now?"

Dean shrugged. "We thought we killed you the first time we met you. Coulda been the same deal."

Gabriel opened his mouth to object, then realized he had a point. "Touché."

Dean grunted. "Come on. Looks like splitting up doesn't work. Hell, we thought we were going down, and if you were going up… how did this happen?" He motioned between all of them. "Same level after ten minutes?"

Gabriel nodded, then looked around. "Fine. So… you guys wanna pick a door, because I've had zero luck."

Dean and Sam exchanged glances before shrugging. Dean motioned at the second closest door on the left. "Try that one and hope for the best?" He asked.

Gabriel shrugged, then paused. "Better idea…" He snapped his fingers and all the doors swung open. "Check them." He moved to the first door on the left and the boys took the far right two. After finding out that his door led to a dead end. He heard Dean call for Sam in a panicked voice He got back out of the hall just in time to see Dean tackle Sam, and a moment later, something that bore a striking resemblance to a battering ram come flying through the door Sam had taken.

"And now there are booby traps." Dean sighed.

Gabriel shrugged, then pulled Sam to his feet. "Then that's the one that usually leads somewhere."

Dean glared at him, then headed for the door again. He moved slowly along the wall. "Wait, what am I doing? Gabriel, get in here. Snap your fingers and undo anything that can be waiting."

"If you haven't noticed, this guy has been one upping me. We may not have that option." Gabriel replied.

"Oh well. Still, get in front of me." Dean shot back.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. He knew had it been any other situation, Dean would've had some comment about being 'too handsome to get hurt or die first.' "Whatever…" He headed down the hallway, then froze when there was that once-again-familiar feeling in the back of his head. "Hold on, guys. Someone's sending up the equivalent to a flare

Sam stopped beside him. "Our angels? The girls? Roy?"

"… Try the first two combined. It's Julie… and she's close, too."

"You sure it's not a trap?" Sam asked, and Dean shrugged his agreement.

Gabriel shook his head. "No… too… panicked to be fake. Soren's fallen too hard to even mimic that desperation." He replied. He tried to focus on it. "She's below us. With any luck the others are with her."

"And if they're not?" Dean asked.

"Then we find a way to get Julie out of here. She needs this least of all. New plan, boys." He snapped his fingers.

A moment later, they were down a few floors, but they hit something and were tossed back a few feet when they were about to touch down. They got up and dusted themselves off, then just gawked when they saw the angels, Hannah and Julie standing in cells. They were all staring back at the three of them.

"Uncle Gabel!" Julie sat up.

Gabriel waved. "Hey, kiddo." He looked at the angels, switching right back into business mode. "What blocks are up?"

Hael sighed. "Anything that could hold an angel inside here and render him powerless."

"So angel-proof but not Trickster proof?" Gabriel asked.

Hael shrugged. "I assume so."

Gabriel nodded, then snapped his fingers. He waited a moment. "One of you try to get over here." He pointed to the spot beside him. Castiel stood this time, and a moment later, he was beside his brother.

"I don't like this. It seemed too easy." The younger angel replied.

Gabriel shrugged. "Right now, I'm willing to take a chance." He snapped his fingers again and the locks on both cell doors fell off and the doors swung open. While Hannah looked around cautiously before going out, Julie hurried out and proceeded to wrap herself around Gabriel's leg.

The archangel patted her head, then looked at Hael when he joined them. "I need you to get Julie and Hannah out of here so they're out of danger."

Hannah shook her head. "Forget that. If my sister is around here, I'm not leaving her."

Gabriel frowned. "It's not your sister, kiddo."

"Yeah, the one that swings her hips when walking isn't. The one who looked ready to kick ass was." Hannah replied, and then looked apologetic when Gabriel looked confused. "The real McCoy's here, Gabe. You missed her by minutes."

Gabriel tossed his head back and shook his head. "Naturally. Oh well. If we survive this, your sister will kill me if you so much as get a scratch. You're going with Hael." He insisted, then looked at Julie. "You're not gonna argue, are you?"

Julie just blinked at him, picking up the authority he was trying to send out. She nodded after a moment, then went over to the angel who had been given the task to get her out.

Hael looked between the girls, then looked at the remaining angels and humans. "Be safe. Don't go doing what you usually do, tossing yourselves into danger. Don't. Get. Confident." He finished, focusing more on Hannah and the Winchesters with the last part.

Gabriel nodded, then looked at Castiel. "Please go with him. It's better if they have backup, and I'd prefer it be you more than anything."

"You can't do this alone, Gabriel." Castiel replied.

"I'm not alone. The boys and I make one Hell of a team when we're not pitted against each other."

Castiel frowned, but nodded. "I'll take care of them."

Hael reached for the girls. "Keep in touch." He instructed, before he touched the girls' foreheads and they all disappeared.

The remaining set waited a while before they were satisfied nothing had immediately gone wrong. Gab

Dean sighed. "Now what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do, Deano. Keep walkin' til Soren comes to us, or we keep springing his traps 'til he can't resist it."

Dean blinked. "…Wonderful. Fan-flippin'-tastic."

SPN SPN SPN SPN

Alexandra looked down when she stumbled over something. She caught herself on the wall and glared down at the culprit. The glare dropped when she realized it was a railroad spike. How it got there, she didn't know, but it was the closest thing to a weapon around, so it would have to do. She picked it up, ignoring how terribly Buffy-esque the situation suddenly seemed. She shrugged it off and turned down a hallway that led to a staircase. She headed down the flight of stairs and turned to the left. She let out a yelp when she collided with something- rather, someone. She didn't see their face, they just felt masculine upon impact, so she brought her knee up on what she guessed was his groin.

Sure enough, her assumption and aim was right, so the yell of pain was satisfying- that was, until she recognized the person it belonged to. Hair similar to Roy's, pale skin, lean body, but not her uncle all the same. "Shit, James?"

Her friend looked up at her. "Alex? Have you been here the whole time, too?"

Alexandra frowned, taking in the rest if his appearance. Usually he kept his appearance in check as much as he could. Now his hair was mussed, his eyes seemed duller than usual, and his stubble was longer than usual as wekk. "Geez, James. Since when did you have magic hair growing skills? I saw you what, yesterday? It didn't look like you had that much then."

James frowned. "Yesterday? Lexi, what're you talking about? Last I saw you was… God, I don't even know. The day we got dragged here by those demon freaks, and we got separated." He hissed in pain and started to double over.

"James?" Alexandra closed the distance between them to help him up, trying to process the new information and see what was wrong with him. She gaped at the long gash he had spanning his side from his ribcage to hip. "What happened to…?" Her brain finally caught up with his 'I haven't seen you since the last time we were here' comment. Then who was…? She frowned. _Soren._ Hell, there was a copy of her walking around, there could've been a copy of James just as easily. Her breath caught in her throat. There could be copies of Soren himself. That just brought things further into Hell. She turned to James- who she now hoped was the real thing and it wasn't some two-hit joke. "How did you and I meet?"

James gawked at her, then frowned and raised his eyebrows. It was one of his trademark fidget when he realized someone other than himself was right. That action was already reassuring to her. "It was four years back. You and your dad were hunting because some demon was messing with your family after your brother died. I was in town hunting the same bastard. I was chasing him down and ran across the road you and Pops were driving on. Your dad didn't hit the breaks in time, and you hit me. I went flying over the windshield, you dragged me home and patched me up. You guys trying to talk me out of calling the hospital, then you flipped a shit when you saw this-" He pulled down his shirt collar, showing a couple of lines of scars. "Wendigo attack from two years before I met you."

Alexandra stared him down for a moment, then nodded. "Have you found any way out of here?"

James shook his head. "Not at all. Anytime I think I do, it just leads to another hallway, or stairs, or anything else."

She turned around. "Damn it." She looked around, trying to see what was down the hallway they were now in.

James frowned. "Lex, you look like Hell. Are you sure you want to lead…?" He reached for her hesitantly.

Alexandra stepped back. "Hey, just because you check out okay doesn't necessarily mean I'm just gonna trust you right off the bat when I just had to beat the shit out of myself, got it? You wanna go along with me, keep a distance away."

James put his hands up. "Fair enough. You know what's going on better than I do."

Alexandra frowned. "How is that if you've been here all the time that you didn't know there were copies?"

"I've been locked down below until now. The door just… swung open. Hell, it was creepy, but I wasn't going to pass a chance to escape this place after demons used me as a carving board, Lex." James replied.

Alexandra clenched her jaw, but nodded and headed down the hallway. James followed slowly, moving along the wall for support while keeping the requested distance. She looked back at him. "Did you see anyone else? Anyone at all? Tall guy, long brown hair, maybe a guy with a worn leather jacket who was with him? What about a guy about an inch taller than me, green jacket, red shirt? My uncle Roy?"

James shook his head. "You're the first actual person I've seen in days."

Alexandra sighed. "Great. We're alone." She paused. No, that was good. That meant the boys and her sister were out of trouble. She frowned, catching sight of something in the doorway about six feet away. _I just had to say something._ "Dean!"

Dean hesitantly looked around the corner. "Alex? "

"Yeah. Look, it's really me, and you guys are gonna have to take that on faith, and I'll take that it's really you on faith because personally, I'm done asking questions and answering questions about experiences. Are the others with you?"

Dean looked behind him, then nodded, still looking uneasy, but Sam and Gabriel came out of hiding, and the four of them stared each other down.

Alexandra , not able to take it anymore, broke the silence. "What the Hell is wrong with you people? I knew I sounded desperate on the phone, but I didn't think for a minute any of you would be dumb enough to actually listen and come after me! Christ, you played right into Soren's trap! I appreciate the rescue effort, but it was still dumb as Hell! You guys know me well enough to know I try to do as much as I can on my own!" She finished. She frowned when she noticed Gabriel was looking at her with this look of admiration and pride, Dean and Sam had taken to gawking, and Castiel was just staring, looking confused as usual. "…What?"

The archangel looked back at the brothers, who also had growing smiles on their faces. "It's her." The three of them said simultaneously.

Alexandra set her jaw again, then her frown deepened when Gabriel looked back at her with that look again. "And you, you I'm most surprised at. I mean, I bit your head off and you still come run-" She let out a yelp when Gabriel walked over and pulled her into a hug. "ing?" He lifted her about an inch of so in the process. It was awkward to begin with based on the last events, but the inch height difference made the movement itself even more awkward. "Gabriel, put me- what's up with you?"

"No. Shush." Gabriel replied,, only tightening his grip on her. " Nothing. I just… really, really missed you… the actual you, I mean."

"Gabe, you saw me last just a few hours ago, and I screamed at you. That's not a normal person's time to forg- ooooh, you boys ran into the whore version of me, didn't you?"

"Mm hm. Never, ever ever change. You hear me? Never. I will personally mojo the thoughts that are anything similar to what your copy's would be out of your head." He replied, still managing to tighten his grip without crushing her. "I'm sorry about back there. I was dumb and angry and just being my usual idiotic self-"

Alexandra patted his back hesitantly, trying to get air into her lungs. Definitely Gabriel. "Gabe, you're forgiven. I'm sorry, too. A lot of my reaction was over the top because of Soren, anyway. Now, please put me down, because four out of us here require breathing to live."

Gabriel reluctantly did, then hesitated. Four? It was just her, the brothers and- he frowned, seeing James looking rather confused in the corner. He let out a growl and advanced.

Alexandra grabbed his arm, loosening her hold when she realized she had a vice grip on his arm. Actually being able to touch him was definitely going to need some getting used to. "Gabe, no. It's really him. It should really be him- he checked out, and he's hurt badly as it is."

James shook his head. "Mind telling me who these people are, Lexi?" He asked, motioning at the others.

The Winchesters frowned. "Haven't you been…?" They looked at each other. "Don't tell me we were dealing with a copy out there." Dean jabbed his finger in the direction of what he assumed was the outer wall of the house.

Alexandra shrugged. "He's been here since you got me out of here, apparently. James, meet Dean and Sam Winchester- yes, we've established we have 'James Dean' on our team now. The one who was about to rip your head off is Gabriel."

James arched an eyebrow. "Gabriel…?"

"No last name, pal. I'm the archangel." Gabriel replied.

James snorted. "Right. That's all we need. Some wiseass when there are apparently copies of everyone trying to kill us-"

Gabriel shrugged, then looked at Sam and Dean. "Don't say I didn't try being the nice guy."

Dean grunted his acknowledgement, then squared his shoulders. "So are we gonna find this guy or not?"

"No need."

Dean rolled his eyes, took out the Roy's pistol and turned, firing off a shot at Soren without a thought.

The angel looked down at the impact spot in his shoulder. He brushed his hand over the spot, and a moment later, the bullet fell out of him and the wound closed up. "I have to hand it to all of you- good teamwork. Didn't expect it- and Gabriel, I thought you'd still be getting used to having powers again. Who knew you'd use them so quickly?"

"Everyone but you, jackass." Gabriel replied. "You know, for a fellow egotistical dick, you sure don't give me enough credit."

Soren smirked and mock saluted. "Forgive me, then."

Gabriel clicked his tongue and pretended to consider the offer. "I think I'll skip that, thanks."

Soren shrugged. "Fair enough."

Gabriel returned the smirk, but it dropped when he saw a new look cross Soren's face. He barely had time to register the fact that he looked more angry than arrogant before he got slammed against the wall. He cursed and snapped his fingers to try and get the others out of the area, but nothing happened. He groaned and kneed Soren's stomach. The other angel dropped him and stumbled back, but the action almost seemed mocking. Gabriel saw the others head for Soren, but they got knocked back by some force a moment later. The action put the real James completely out of commission, since he blacked out in his state when he hit the wall hardest.

Soren grabbed Gabriel again using one hand, more to keep him in place. He waved his free hand, and Alexandra's copy was back, and she headed for the real one, along with the brothers.

Gabriel grunted and kicked again. This time, he missed completely, which earned himself getting tossed to the other side of the hall. He pushed himself up and checked on the other three, who were all having a hard time taking on Alexandra's copy- she had managed to disarm the brothers, save for their knives, and she was putting up a Hell of a good fight. He hated that Soren remembered that aspect of his girl. He heard Soren coming up behind him and kicked out yet again. To his own surprise, Soren went down hard. The archangel's mind started going a mile a minute. Just because he didn't have his angelic powers didn't mean he wasn't still classified as one, right? He prayed he was right and snapped his fingers again, hoping for the best. When his fingers curled around a familiar, smooth, streamline object, he figured he could die of relief, though he had to admit that situation was ironic in the worst way. He would by an angel killing blade two completely different ways. He got a better hold of the sword and pushed off, the ground right before Soren reached him.

Soren glanced at the sword and laughed. "Cute. You really think that can kill me with that after all you've seen me do?"

"Worth a shot." Gabriel replied, kneeling upright and moving his arm up to try and stab Soren square in the stomach.

The angel dodged it with an eerie amount of grace. Gabriel scowled and went to swing again, only to find his hand was empty. Here we go again. He glanced at Soren, and sure enough, his brother was holding the sword. Scratch the ironic way of dying by the sword twice- this way was just going to suck. He pulled himself together in time to dodge Soren's own swing at him with the sword. The archangel bothered to pause a moment, hearing Roy call that his task was done in the back of his head. He looked around the room. Now all he needed to do was get Soren in a relatively open area, which were quite scarce in the room they were in.

Soren smirked, then looked over the blade. "Having flashbacks yet, brother?"

"You'll have to stab me first." Gabriel shot back. Sure, that was a dumb thing to Ponce de Le-douche, but he didn't care.

Soren shrugged. "Not part of the plan, I'm afraid."

Gabriel frowned. "What?"

Soren waved his hand, and a moment later, Alex's copy was beside him.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes in confusion. That just didn't add up. Soren knew everyone knew she was the copy, so what was he getting at? He didn't have long to wonder. A moment later, Soren had turned the sword on the copy, thrusting it hard into her gut. Gabriel tried hard not to show his utter confusion, but failed miserably.

The copy let out a shriek of mixed alarm and pain, more so when Soren angled the sword and thrusted it up again.

Once she was gone, Soren brought up the sword to eye level to look it over. The blood on it disappeared as well. He ran his finger along one of the wide sides once it was spotless again. "I'm sorry, Alex. It had to be done. I wish it wasn't you it happened to."

Gabriel snapped out of his state of shock a moment later. He wanted to know why the Hell Soren had just apologized after he killed the copy, as opposed to what he expected- an apology right before death. However, when Soren looked in the real Alex's direction, all the confusion dropped- as did the archangel's heart. There was another way to ensure that copies that were created stayed true to form and seemed almost indistinguishable from the real thing. He turned around sharply. A blood bond, and if that happened, possibilities were endless with their connection. "Alex?!"

Sure enough, she looked worse for wear, and the same wound that Soren had inflicted on her copy was on her own stomach. Her shirt was near soaked through with blood. Her knees had hit the ground hard as he turned and she gasped for air. The Winchesters got down just in time and managed to get their arms under hers for support before she completely hit the ground.

Gabriel bolted over to her, putting pieces together as he did so. He should've seen the blood bond coming after he had seen him scratch her. He was a fool. Now, chances are, he was about to watch her bleed to death. "ALEX! "He tilted her chin up, trying to get her to look at him. Soren could wait.

Alexandra whimpered and looked down at the matching wound. "Didn't… didn't see that coming... Shit, that's a lot of blood…" She went to put her hand over her stomach again, but Gabriel pushed it away.

"Shut up. Don't talk. Take it easy." Gabriel ordered, snapping his fingers. Unlike Roy's wound, the thing didn't close at all. "What the Hell?" He snapped again, then glanced up when Alexandra's eyelids fluttered closed. "Alex, no! Stay with us!" He ordered. He looked over his shoulder and cursed, seeing Soren had made his escape. He growled, then turned his attention back to his task at hand. He let his hand hover over the wound and concentrated, hoping by some stretch his angelic powers would come back when he felt he needed them most. Of course, that was too much to ask for. _Why now?_

The brothers exchanged uneasy looks when they spotted Alexandra's eyes close again. "Alex…" Dean patted her cheek lightly.

Sam nodded slowly. "You heard Gabriel- try to stay up…" He looked at the other two, who exchanged identical defeated looks. He frowned and looked back at her. He had taken to her quite quickly. He had seen way too many allies fall, and she and her sister had been placed high on the list of faces Dean considered family and would hate to lose, least of all in front of him. He knew the other's stances on that same topic weren't far off. "You can't kick your ex's ass if you… … if you're gone. You wanna kill him, don't you?"

"Don't think… I don't think I have much… choice here, guys." Alexandra replied, then coughed up blood, just adding to the misery.

Gabriel leaned forward. "Hey, Al. This isn't how it goes. I'm supposed to annoy you to death. You're not supposed to die on my because some asshole who has an issue with me used you."

"Again, n' mu'… choice… Gabe."

Gabriel shook his head. "No. You're gonna be fine. We're gonna fix this. We're gonna kill him and patch you up, I promise you that much." He looked up. "Castiel!" He groaned when there was no response. He doubted his brother wouldn't come during this situation, so he figured Soren was cutting them off once again. He saw the Winchesters tense up out of the corner of his eye. He looked at them, and they were staring at Alex. Gabriel looked down, confident he wasn't going to like what he saw. Sure enough, Alexandra's eyes were open, staring ahead. They looked completely dull- _dead_ dull. _Shit._ He swallowed hard and reached for her hand, turning it to check her pulse. He waited for a while to feel it, but it never came. He closed his eyes and put her hand down before running his own hand down his face slowly, looking into space when his pointer finger reached his chin. All different emotions hitting him at once was completely foreign and uncomfortable to him, which did nothing but increase the pain he felt.

Sam inhaled sharply and looked away.

Dean did the same, then looked at Gabriel. He would never admit it out loud, but he felt for the archangel for the first time since he thought the other was just some poor janitor that discovered a dead body. He waited a few seconds to reply. "Go kill the worthless son of a bitch. We'll stay with her."

Gabriel looked at the brothers, and in turn, Sam and Dean wondered if the angel was seconds away from crying- another thing that would've blown the brothers' minds . "You sure?" the archangel asked after a few moments of staring.

Sam nodded. "We're sure. Go- oh, no. Where's Roy?"

Gabriel flinched, then snapped his fingers half-heartedly.

The brunette man appeared beside him, and looked around, confused over his new surroundings, until he set his eyes on his niece, along with his companions' defeated expressions. He eased himself down to his knees before they had the chance to buckle. He swallowed hard, forcing back tears that were putting up a damn good fight as he cupped his niece's cheek. He turned to the others "…Soren?" He choked out.

Gabriel nodded weakly, then raised his fingers again. "We're gonna get her back, Roy." He added gently. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a score to settle." With one final snap, he was gone from the room.


	22. Give It All Away Just to Get You Back

**A/N: Second to last chapter here, then a deleted/ alternate scene chapter will come as well. A couple of banners are up on my profile for this chapter, too. The chapter is just titled differently in it. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Dean squirmed after a few minutes of watching Roy just staring at Alex with a mix look of hurt, anger and defeat on his face. "You uh… want me to call Joe and Alana and tell them-"

"Dean, Alexandra gets her temper from both of them. Imagine you calling Alex and telling her Hannah died. It wouldn't end well for you. Joe and Alana would come here just to skin you alive if you delivered that news over the phone." Roy replied, absentmindedly running his thumb over Alexandra's hand. "If this goes South… if Gabriel doesn't fix this… I'll tell them. No sense in bringing two people they've met once into the mix."

Dean pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. "Right."

Roy turned to him. "So… now that Gabriel's not around and can't rebuttal… do you think he really stand a chance against this guy."

Sam crossed his arms. "I hate to say it, but he's one of the strongest, persistent… things I've ever seen. He obviously cares for Alex, so…" He shrugged. "I'd say yes, but at the same time…" He looked down and sighed. "I don't think we've seen Soren's full potential , so…" He looked up. He certainly didn't want to get Roy's hopes up since he already looked destroyed, but at the same time, he did want to give Roy hope. It was a tough spot. "…If Gabriel goes down, he'll take Soren down with him… and that'll get rid of whatever the guy did to keep Castiel and Hael away and they'll hopefully… take care of Alex." He finished. His heart sank, hoping that he hadn't just jinxed the whole thing. Dean was looking at him like he was thinking that he had in fact jinxed it, and Roy didn't show much change. He clenched his jaw when one certain thought came into his head.

Dean arched an eyebrow, seeing his brother go from looking apologetic to looking like he was contemplating doing something he knew he might regret later. "Sammy, wanna fill us in?"

Sam looked at him, then straightened up, glancing over his weapons. "Dean, we're just standing here- don't get me wrong, it's for good reason- well, understandable reason, but…" He trailed off. "Of course it's a completely different guy he's facing, but the last time we left Gabriel to fight alone, he _died_. Sure, he's rubbed that in our faces a couple of times the last few days, but he has a point. I'm going after him, Dean. He hasn't done anything wrong this time. We owe him for that."

Dean stared at his brother, then nodded slowly. "Well, you're not going anywhere without me in this place, even if I disagree that we owe him 'cause 'he hasn't done anything wrong this time.'" Dean looked at Roy. "I know we're not gonna get you to leave her, so… you gonna be okay on your own?"

Roy looked up and blinked as if he hadn't heard him, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. If anything goes down, I can handle it. My job's done, anyway. You two go help our man."

The Winchesters both nodded appreciatively and gave the closest of Roy's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before heading after the archangel.

* * *

Gabriel looked around as he moved down the hallway. He was done with Soren's games. Hell, he had seen the current outcome, well, coming. He just didn't realize it would hit him as hard as it did. Now all he wanted- needed to do was go with what he was planning on before- getting Soren in the middle of a large room, get some magic going, and watch him burn. He pushed one door open, and after a quick glance around, figured it fit the criteria. He went inside, then leaned on the door after he closed it. He glanced up and tossed his arms out. "I'm done, Soren! Nobody else is gonna die on my watch! You have a clue on how to get my powers, come get 'em!" He braced himself when he heard that familiar whoosh of air that indicated one of his kind were on the way. When Soren appeared, smirking as always in the diagonally opposite corner of the room, Gabriel just glared. Soren had planted himself in the worst place he could be for his plan to work.

Soren crossed his arms and nodded. "Good. You've come to your senses. I'll try to spare some of the pain since you came willingly."

Gabriel played along with Soren's mock sympathy. "I don't like when assholes kill my friends."

Soren looked down. "I didn't like doing it as much as you didn't like seeing it happen."

"Please. You got off on it. Don't you make this worse by lying to me." Gabriel scoffed. "Ya know, before I send you in the opposite direction than the one you came from, I just wanna know why. Hell, you had me convinced you still loved her."

"Oh, I do. You make the mistake of thinking she's gone for good. I have every intention of bringing her back when I'm done with you. Then again, even if I didn't, you seem to have loved her enough for the both of us. Maybe it's better this way- her dead- for you, anyway."

Gabriel scoffed again, then shrugged. "What can I say. I like fighters- Christina Aguilera's definition and all." He replied. "Guess you're the one she'd be thanking then, huh?"

Soren chuckled, then shook his head. "Guess so."

"And why kill her and not keep her hostage?" Gabriel added with a snarl.

Soren shrugged. "More anger, less control of your grace that I've kept a lock on inside you- a wall that not even you could access it."

Gabriel tried to hide his surprise. That explained a lot. _Do I even trust it?_

Soren looked down, then back at Gabriel. "Let's end this now, hm Keep away from the games."

"Can you follow your own directions?" Gabriel shot back.

"We'll have to see." Soren replied. Soren raised his hand, and Gabriel hit the ground hard with a grunt of pain. To say it was like getting stabbed again was an accurate description. Sure, it wasn't as painful, but it was just about as intense. Hell, it was like getting his ripped out again, but different. He realized he was completely wrong when all he heard was a high screech- his true voice, and a mass of power building up inside him. He barely had time to register that the situation made no sense because last he checked, he couldn't even feel his grace. However, that didn't seem to matter, because a moment later, he did feel his grace- just in time for it to get ripped out of him.

* * *

It was too peaceful, too quiet, and too soft. Alexandra couldn't think of anything different when she felt herself waking up after blacking out seconds ago. Something was wrong. The pain in her stomach was gone. That didn't seem possible after you got stabbed there- Hell, last she checked, you died and therefore felt nothing when you bled out from a stabbing. She also recalled dying with her back to the ground, not her stomach. She let out a groan and let her hands curl into fists, still not recognizing the surface under her. She pushed her upper body up and opened her eyes slowly, wincing at the bright sunlight that practically assaulted her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked back down to let her vision adjust, finding she was laying on grass. Sky, grass, sun- this clearly wasn't where she had been minutes ago. Another look up let her take in her surroundings better. The sight in front of her was almost too surreal for her. A clear blue lake spanned most of the area, and the grass was the pure green it usually was if it was watered properly and allowed to grow out. The sky was cloudless and a deep blue. "This can't be good…" She muttered.

"Eh, could be worse… far worse."

Alexandra froze, hearing the voice beside her. She knew it. She just didn't believe it. She slowly looked up, taking in a young man with tousled brown hair and her eyes, just a few shades darker. "… Nate…?"

Her younger brother smiled down at her. "Hi, Alex. It's been a while."

Alexandra rolled over and dragged herself back, trying to put as much distance between her and whoever was pretending to be her dead brother without ending up in the water. "Are you shitting me? No. I am done getting yanked around. This is some sick joke from Soren or one of his… cronies, I don't care!"

Nate sighed and squatted down. He let his fingers skim the grass for a couple of seconds before looking back at her. "You can't run, Allie. There's no place to go this time. This isn't a sick joke. I wouldn't do that to you."

Alexandra shook her head. How another messed up copy could know her nickname that she only allowed Nate to call her, she didn't want to know. " No. This can't be happening." She pushed herself upright and turned around. She stopped short, seeing her parents' house about a hundred feet from the lake. She let out a disbelieving laugh and knelt down. Passing out after dying- or during dying, or whatever this was- probably wasn't going to help her any. "I can't take this. This can't be real." She looked up. "You hear me, Soren? You goddamn win! You said yourself I'm not your target, so just stop! I'm dead anyway!" She screamed. She slumped further down into herself and sighed, turning back to the water, and the Imposter, who was looking at her with a look that was well rehearsed by the Imposter. That was, until she saw two other reflections coming towards her. She looked up and towards the two people that the reflection was of, and her breath caught in her throat. The two figures were her younger self, just around age six, and her young version was chasing a toddler-version of Nate. He was probably six there. She rose to her feet slowly, just watching little her and Nate chase each other around the field, darting around from tree to tree, laughing as they did so. She let out a subconscious whimper. She remembered that day, but how…?

"You think Soren or someone else could've remembered that day clearly? The day after I got lost in the woods and then Mom and Dad made you stay with me twenty four seven the three days after that because they were afraid I'd run again?" Nate asked.

Alexandra whimpered again. He was right. There was no way. He was the real thing. That made one thing obvious, but hell, it was worth a shot that this thing wasn't some… messed up dream when she was on the brink. "… I'm dead, aren't I?" She looked at Nate.

Nate shrugged. "That all depends on your definition of dead."

Alexandra blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nate looked at her, then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Did you physically die? Yes, but… it's not… your time, so you're… you can't stay for long… until you really are meant to die." He replied. "I was sent here to receive you and send you back when everything down there is ready to take you back." He replied. "…I just never thought I would meet you here first… prayed it wouldn't be you… I guess that's the good thing in the fact I get to send you back." He scoffed. "God, you always have to make things complicated, don't you?" He demanded, scrunching up his nose. A moment later, the disgusted look dropped and he beamed at her.

Alexandra let out a third whimper and she closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck before proceeding to sob into his neck. All of her questions could wait. "It is you. Oh God, it's really you…"

Nate didn't think twice before returning the hug. "I've missed you, Allie." He would've been a complete fool if he didn't know she mumbled 'missed you too' against his neck.

* * *

"GABRIEL!" Dean called. Sam and Dean's search had gone from reasonable to bad quickly, but when they heard someone angeling out, it didn't take long to get the trail again. He skidded to a halt when he caught the sight of Gabriel's jacket out of the corner of his eye. He dodged into the room before Sam could collide with him, noticing that the archangel was doubled over and looked like he had been tossed through the ringer repeatedly. "You okay?"

Gabriel groaned. "Does it look like I'm okay? I should be dead ri- MOVE!"

When Dean got flung back a couple of feet, he had to wonder just how strong a trickster-archangel could be when he wasn't doing well. He turned to the spot Gabriel was glaring at, and glared himself. As he expected, Soren was standing there, but there was something different about him. He had a 'don't mess with me' feeling now. Before it was just 'back away and you'll be fine.' "The Hell…?"

"Ah. Your dogs are loyal after all. You didn't even call them." Soren replied.

"Jealous I have friends that actually exist and aren't products of an overactive imagination?" Gabriel smirked. He glanced at the brothers. "Get to the door."

"What?" They hissed.

"He said get to the door." Soren replied, and with a flick of his wrist, both of the brothers went flying back this time. "Terribly sorry, Gabriel. Looks like I will go back on my own word."

"Go to Hell, you bastard." Gabriel snapped. "Shoulda just let me die."

Soren chuckled. "Now where's the fun in that? As you knew even as I said it, I'm not quite the man of my word I seem to be." He started to advance on Gabriel.

Gabriel looked up, just taking in his feet. It wasn't how he wanted things to go, but it would work. One step, two steps, three steps. Now. He snapped his fingers weakly, and the ground shook for a moment.

Soren froze, then looked down as a circle started to form on the ground. When several spots on the circle broke off into other patterns, the angel realized what it was. He went to sidestep it, but failed. He was stuck inside the sigil that now locked him in place.

Gabriel rose to his feet. "Buddy, next time you wanna eliminate all of a guy's bases to take his powers out from under him, one…" He held up his pointer finger. "Don't mark your territory with something that's practically your damn signature." He pointed at the parts of the sigil that matched the one they had found on the wall days before. He held up another finger. "Two, don't kill the thing that you think means the most to your victim- sure, it gets them angry and makes them lose control, but it also pisses them off way too much if something goes wrong in your plan, take this, for example." A third finger went up. "Three, instead of worrying about making copies and keeping track of who you think are your biggest threats, keep an eye on everyone, like the weaker guys who could've stowed away to draw this so all the potential victim had to do was bring it up a few floors." He raised a fourth finger." And last but not least, don't even bother to remember ideas one through three because you're not gonna live long enough to bother trying them out again."

Soren snarled and went to step forward, but was blocked once again. He started thrashing and making various hand motions, trying to break the sigil that had now started to flame up.

The brothers just gawked at how quickly things had turned. Gabriel looked stronger already, just from being his usual wiseass self. When the arch started saying something in what they guessed was the human-friendly version of Enochian, they looked at each other before squeezing their eyes shut and cringing. They had a feeling they knew what was coming. Sure enough, there was a loud inhuman screech a few moments later, followed by a blinding light, still behind closed eyelids. They both risked opening their eyes around a minute later, and caught what seemed like the literal tail end of the familiar white light practically slam back into Gabriel. They closed their eyes again, just for good measure. They waited a few more moments, then opened their eyes again, and just watched as Gabriel looked over himself. "… You okay?" Dean repeated his last question to the archangel. He looked even better than he did before the lightshow. The scratches the angel had received were gone or slowly disappearing. "…Dude, you're healing."

Gabriel paused and stood still as if testing Dean's statement, then nodded. "So I am. Looks like I'm back, boys. I'm as powerful as I was when I sent you into TV land."

Sam rolled his eyes, then slowly rose to his feet, looking at the pile of ashes where Soren had been seconds before. "Is that...?"

"Mm hm. Personally, I just want to bury and scatter those things or just dump water on 'em and flush it." Gabriel replied. "He chose the wrong guy to mess with. He should've known that." He replied, then hesistated. "You know, I've got a better idea." He raised his hand, and the ashes started to burn up in a flame that was visibly not at all like a regular one. The ash burned up into it, and a moment later, the flame, as well as the ashes were gone. "Now half of it's gone from existence permanently." Gabriel explained when he spotted the brothers' looks of confusion. He looked at his hand, as if he was getting reacquainted with the fact that he could do such things just by raising it slightly.

Dean stared at the arch in disbelief for a few seconds, then started laughing hysterically, if only for a couple of seconds. "Dude, enjoy this, because this is the first and last time I'll ever say this directed at and to you: That. Was. Awesome."

"Yeah, I have a lot of those moments. Now, gloat when all of us are alive again. Let's get Alex back."

* * *

Alexandra looked down, trying to register all the information Nate had told her In the span of a few minutes. They had sat down on the shore, and she kicked the water back and forth slowly. "So… let me get this straight. We all have our own versions of heaven, and as people know and care about each other, they can come and go among their friend and family's different heavens?"

Nate nodded. "More or less. Depends on the people. Our family over generations seemed to like the idea, so it's been kept."

Alexandra nodded. "So… why stay in mine if it was… pre-created, even before you had to come to intercept me?"

Nate shrugged. "Everyone else's… they're… superficial. The mountains, a beach…" He chuckled. "Hannah's is a mall… yours is just… home- with a few awesome modifications." He smacked the water, indicating he meant that. "It's nice and familiar."

Alexandra nodded, then sighed. "So, is it true about you being able to look down on us?"

Nate smiled, then raised his hand and nodded at the water.

Alexandra glanced, seeing some of the waves slow, and a moment later, it turned into a flat surface, and the image of their parents talking in the kitchen replaced it. "Wow…"

"Not what you were expecting?" Nate asked.

"Nate, I died, apparently went to my idea of heave, and am talking to my brother whose been dead for five years. I'm not expecting anything short of mind blowing now."

Nate chuckled, then sighed. He looked up when there was a low flash of light. "Ah. Your friends are quicker than I expected."

"Wait, you mean…?"

Nate shrugged. "You're about to be back in the land of the living."

* * *

"Come on, come on." Gabriel muttered, letting his hands hover over Alexandra's sides. He figured start small, but he had no idea that he would be so rusty with his old angelic powers. He was barely getting anywhere with bringing the woman back. Sure, she had a bit more color but she still looked utterly gone. "Alex, don't do this. You can't do this. Not now after everything- not when it's over." He turned sharply when he heard wingbeats. "Hael!"

The angel merely looked relieved that they weren't trapped any more. "I took care of Soren's people down…" he saw Alexandra. "…Stairs." His look of relief dropped.

Gabriel looked at them. "Hael, please…. She… she fits with the type of person you can bring back, and she's been dead for minutes, and-"

Hael closed the distance between them, not needing any further explanation. The look of his goddaughter, the archangel's destroyed look, and the general air about the room was enough. He glanced at Roy to indicate for the man to move, and Gabriel shifted so he was on Alexandra's other side. The angel pressed his hand over Alexandra's heart and closed his eyes, concentrating on the task at hand.

* * *

Alexandra flinched when the light got brighter and the flashes started getting closer together. "So… I'm guessing the whole Lost-esque flashes mean that I'm getting closer to coming back?"

Nate nodded, also looking down. "Mm hm. Now, might as well get all this over with. I love you, Alex. Never forget that."

"Love you too, Nate. I won't."

Nate tilted her head down and kissed her forehead when one of the flashes went on twice as long as the others had. "You're just about back, Allie. Now, there's one last thing I want you to do for me…"

* * *

Gabriel let one of his own hands drop, starting to wonder if they were fighting a losing battle. It was nothing new to what they had dealt with for the last few days. "Hael, I-" His sentence was completely forgotten when Alexndra sat up, coughing, trying to get air back into her lungs. "Alex?" He let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

She looked from him, to Hael, to Roy, then the others. "What the Hell was that?" Then it hit her. It wasn't bright anymore. It was dreary, indoors, and dark. Her friends were here, and Nate was nowhere in sight. She was back, like he had said. She let out a quick sigh of mixed relief and disbelief. She was back. She was home.

Hael joined in with Gabriel's laughter, then merely glanced up when Roy practically shoved him to the side in order to hug his niece tightly.

Alexandra leaned into Roy, returning the hug with equal vigor. "This would work better if I was standing, I think."

Roy didn't need to hear another hint. He pulled her to her feet slowly before pulling her into a hug again. "Never ever do that to me again, you hear me?"

Alexandra laughed weakly. "What? Die? You have my word on that one." She replied. "…I love you."

"Love you too, sweetheart." Roy finally pulled away. "Now, I'm gonna let you make your rounds before your angel self-implodes from guilt and relief and all the rest."

Alexandra nodded, then turned to Gabriel, who looked ready to cry. "… Hi."

A second later, Gabriel disappeared, only to reappear right in front of her. "Good. At least that works. Now…" He pulled her into a hug of his own. "I'm with Roy there. Never ever change, and never ever die again. You scared the crap outta us."

Alexandra sighed and pressed closer to him. "DeaI, Gabe. I take you're all back now, angel side and all? Then are you ever gonna let the possibility of me dying again occur?"

"Don't count on it." Gabriel replied.

"And Soren?"

"Taken care of- gone; Long story. You were dead for most of it."

Alexandra sighed, then leaned up and kissed him. It was quick and chaste, but it got all that needed to be said across. Sure, she didn't want to admit it, but it was pretty decent, too. When the Winchesters cleared their throats awkwardly, she finally pulled away.

Gabriel opened his mouth, then shut it, rethinking what he was about to say. "Uh, sweetheart, not that I'm complaining, but-"

"Shut up. I owe you like, three of those now, so I just took care of one." Alexandra replied. "Hell, you just deserved it after this fiasco… "

"That, I do." Gabriel replied and reached to pull her back in.

Dean squeezed his way between them. "Ay, our turn to say welcome back to the now-non-virgin-to-dying. Besides, it's kinda creepy watching the guy who killed me a hundred times makin' out with a girl who we actually like and hasn't tried to kill us."

Gabriel arched an eyebrow, but backed off all the same.

Dean nodded, then hugged Alexandra. "Come here, you fellow Death-defier, you."

"You're a little too happy about this, Dean." Alexandra replied.

"Says the gal who just kissed the guy who's pissed her off almost constantly the last few days." Dean replied.

"Yeah, I have an excuse. What's yours?"

Dean paused, then laughed. "Touche, sister."

Alexandra rolled her eyes, then moved over to Sam. "You in line for a hug now, too?"

Sam shrugged. "Why not?" He leaned down and hugged her. "We're glad you're okay now."

"So am I, sweetheart." She replied. "Now, if you don't mind, if Soren's really gone, can we just go home now?"

Dean nodded, then patted her shoulder. "Sure thing, Al." He opened the door that they had all come through. He seemed to stare ahead for a second, then turned around , beaming. "Hey, looks like the optical illusions died with Soren. There's only one staircase and a couple of doors here now."

"Good. It's quicker to get out, then." Alexandra replied, then looked at the angels. "If one of you try to mojo me outta here, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Hael laughed, then walked over and kissed her forehead. "Even if we just felt your loss and never really had to spend minutes with you when you weren't here, it's good to have you back."

"Uh huh. Can we leave now? Please? This place gives me the creeps."

Gabriel nodded. "Sure. Wait, we're missing something…" He snapped his fingers and James reappeared in the room, looking shell shocked. " 'Kay. Now we're set. Hael, get Roy the guy who still has no idea what's going on outta here. Meet us back at Alex's place."

Hael nodded, and extended his fingers to the said mens' foreheads. While Roy didn't seem phased, James' protest was lost as the three of them disappeared a moment later.

Dean nodded and clapped. "Alright, let's get the Hell out of Creepsville. Gabriel, do something to the Impala or turn Sam into it again and you die. I don't care if Alex likes you now, I still will."

"Deal, Deano. Less talking, more walking."

Dean moved aside from the door and the others filed through after him.

* * *

Alexandra had barely made it half of a foot out of the Impala before Hannah tackled her into a hug. "Oh my God. Are you alright? What happened? Is it over?"

"Yeah, it's over. Look, it took a lot out of me, so I need to breathe, Hann. Iwas worried about you too, but come on. As you can see I'm in one piece." Alexandra replied. There was no sense in telling anyone who didn't know that she had been dead for minutes to know she died. It would just worry them completely and they would do nothing but fuss.

"Well, whatever. I called Mom and Dad and they're on their way-"

"What? Oooh, Hannah, why?" Alexandra asked. So much for preventing them from knowing that certain fact. Her parents could always tell if anyone was keeping something from them. She could just imagine what was to come. Her parents would throw a fit, and demand that she and Hannah would stop hunting. She couldn't argue there, but she had a feeling that just dropping out from being a hunter wouldn't work. It clearly hadn't, since she had thought she escaped, and then the Winchesters and Gabriel walked into her to mention there was Nate's order of business to attend to.

It was definitely going to be an interesting time.


	23. I Can't Believe That it's Over

**A/N: We're not fully pleased with this chapter, which is why it took so long, but hey, it works. Hope you enjoy, insert the rest of a general A/N here.**

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* * *

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Alexandra squirmed when she saw her parents' car coming up the road. "This isn't gonna work. I can't do this. I'm gonna die- all over again. I can't do this." She stood up from sitting on the front steps, and Gabriel yanked her back down.

"Take it easy. You're back now, aren't you?" The archangel demanded. Sure, he liked having his powers back, but the empathy bit and he felt damn near miserable due to picking up her own distress.

"You don't know my dad. The mere fact that I left myself open for a kill shot is gonna get to him, And I might as well warn you he might be pissed at you guys for not being there, either."

Gabriel scoffed. "But we were. We just didn't… really?"

Alexandra shrugged. "It's… my dad, for you. I love him, but… he has an interesting way of looking at things." She squirmed when the car pulled into the driveway. She turned around again, but Gabriel look hold of her again and stood so if she bolted again it would be easier to get her.

"You gonna be okay doing this on your own?" Gabriel asked.

Alexandra scoffed. "Have you not heard anything I've said the past hour? I came out here so Julie wouldn't learn every curse in the English language in an hour. You leave me, I will kill you all over again and some other poor sap can repeat the process."

"But I like when you and the other girls got me back. You're fun."

Alexandra rolled her eyes, then patted his head before getting up again. She waved at Joe and Alana weakly when they finally got out of the car. "Hi, mom, dad." She offered, then sighed when Joe pulled her into a hug before pulling back to get a better look at her. "I'm fine, dad."

"No you're not. You have that look on your face that your mom always gets when she's had a rough day and doesn't wanna talk."

Alexandra's eyes flicked to Alana, then looked back. "Really, I'm fine."

Joe looked at Gabriel, and there was a mix of curiousity, suspicion, and worry. "You, Gabriel- what happened?"

Gabriel gawked for a second, then moved his hand up. "Oh, look at the time, I have to go." He snapped his fingers, then swallowed hard when nothing happened. No freakin' way." Joe smirked, then gave a quick tug at the chain around his neck.

Gabriel just grunted when he saw that it was some kind of amulet. He hoped it was some supernatural power-blocker, like Roy should've had instead of Lightning Central. He looked back at the visitors, offered a weak smile, and as if he came from a cartoon, scooted back on one foot as much as he could before turning and heading back into the house.

"Gabe, no!" Alexandra hissed. "Oh, he is so done."

Joe stopped fiddling with the amulet. "So, you want to tell me the truth?"

"Um…"

"Hael!" Joe barked.

Alexandra groaned. Her father's best friend being the angel of kindness was practically having the angel of honesty as your worst enemy when you didn't want someone to know something. Hael's loyalty to Joe meant he would just outright blurt whatever the truth was, if he knew it. "Okay, okay! You win! Look, we won, obviously, but the fight with Soren went bad for a bit I kindasortadiedforafewminutes 'til Hael and Gabe-"

"YOU WHAT? I saw your friend here attack you, then you just… lying there wounded. You DIED?"

Alexandra flinched. "For like, fifteen minutes. Soren got to me when I didn't expect it and stabbed me. Hael and Gabe brought me back."

Gabriel nodded. "And it wasn't quite her that I attacked. Soren made a copy of her and I caught on."

While Alana paled and was most likely stunned into silence, Joe let out a nervous chuckle before snapping out of it.

Joe clenched his jaw, then shook his head. "Where are Hael and Roy? I need to talk to them." He took her wrist and started dragging her back into the house. "Is Hannah okay?"

"Hannah's fine, I got Castiel to get her the Hell out before anything could go down-"

"Castiel?"

"The other angel we have on our side. The one that sticks with the Winchesters." Alexandra replied, then groaned when he sped up. "Dad, I just told you the second most important thing that just happened. I'm not gonna run-"

"You- my daughter died and that's the second? What's the first?" Joe demanded.

"Gabe killed Soren?" Alexandra offered with a weak smile.

Joe stared at her, then practically flung open the door before marching inside, leaving his daughter on the stoop. "Hael! Roy! I want answers now! Not to mention where the Hell is Hannah?"

Alana finally came to her senses and went over to Alexandra. "Honey, you… you died?"

Alexandra sighed. "I wasn't kidding. It was for around fifteen minutes. The guys took care of Soren and Gabe and Hael brought me back."

Alana sighed, then pulled her daughter into a hug. "Oh, sweetheart! Are you okay after that?"

Alexandra closed her eyes and returned the hug. "I'm fine, mom, really. The guys took good care of me."

Alana pulled back. "Has anyone ever told you that you have far too much male company?"

Jane crossed Alexandra's mind briefly before she shoved the thought back and laughed."

Alana pulled back. "Has anyone ever told you that you have far too much male company?"

Jane crossed Alexandra's mind briefly before she shoved the thought back and laughed. "Too many times, mom. And with these guys, three of them could go for female vessels any time if they wanted, so…"She trailed off. "Listen, Mom. I'm not gonna say the why just yet, but… Gabe and I are gonna have to leave to Nate's old place for a few minutes, and… no one's touched it, so I was wondering if… you or dad… ever thought about getting anything from there."

Alana raised her eyebrows. "I… not that I know of? You… you can do that?"

Alexandra shrugged. "Well, you gotta figure the whole trespassing thing kinda goes away when you have an archangel that can just zap you into the room you need to be in without causing a scene."

Alana nodded slowly. "I figured that, but… anyway, so he's 'Gabe' now, is he?"

Alexandra shook her head. "Not you, too. Come on. It's enough Gabriel pointed that out before."

Alana smiled. "Well, I'm just happy that there doesn't seem to be that wall up between you two anymore."

"Well, getting kidnapped then dying and having him help come to the rescue can do that." Alexandra replied, then caught her mother's raised eyebrow. "Don't go reading further into that. I really don't need that now. Let's go find Dad and Gabe."

"You know, I started off with your father the same way you and Gabriel are-"

"Mom, I highly doubt that."

* * *

They made it back into the house, where Hael was trying to calm Joe down, and the others were standing around as if they were waiting to get yelled at, too. "Gabe, can you take me somewhere, please?"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. " 'Somewhere'?"

Alexandra looked at her father. "Can't say now or it's gonna make things more awkward. Just… you can tap into my head and if I give you an image, you can go, right?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I guess so…"

"Wait, so you're leaving after you drop this on us?" Joe demanded.

"I have to, Dad. It's a favor for… well, you'll find out." Alexandra turned back to Gabriel. "Can we go now?"

Gabriel nodded. "I'm gonna need every little detail, just to be on the safe side, from the image to where the place physically is." He raised two of his fingers.

"Done and done." Alexandra replied.

Gabriel smirked. "Alright. You're about to fly Angel Air. Please be aware of all the exits and-"

"Gabe..."

"Uh huh." The archangel touched her forehead and focused on the image she was projecting. A moment later they were gone before Joe could protest further. Within seconds, they had touched back down onto ground, Gabriel grabbed her arm to steady her when she stumbled. "Hey, whoa, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… I guess… different angels, different amounts of power behind the whole flying thing, huh?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. You sure you're alright?" He let go of her, but still didn't pull back too much.

"I'm good. I was dizzy for a second, and it's gone. I promise."

Gabriel eyed her, but backed off. "So where are we?"

"Nate's old place." Alexandra replied, before heading off down one of the hallways.

Gabriel looked around. That would explain why it looked run down and dust was all over the place. "And… can I ask why?"

"Because Nate told me to get something for my dad." Alexandra replied, heading up a spiral staircase that was in the corner.

"How did…?" Gabriel stopped as realization dawned on him. He mentally kicked himself, then followed her up. "He met you up there, didn't he? He met you than asked one last favor." It was cliché, but touching all at once.

"Uh huh." She pushed open the scuttle hole that led to the attic and scooted up before sliding over onto the floor. She headed for the dresser in the corner and pulled open one of the drawers, picking up the first couple in the pile. She picked one up, read the first couple of lines, then folded them back up and pocketed them. "Success. Let's go."

Gabriel frowned, not missing the swell of her throat when she swallowed hard. "You want a minute before we go? Your dad's not gonna like you looking like a wreck after knowing you were here… on my watch, no less."

"Well, I have a reason to. Turns out Sam and Dean weren't the only two with Daddy issues. Turns out my dad and Nate had some giant blowout a couple of days before we lost him. I mean, it was a couple of days, but a lot of crap that shouldn't have been said was said, so there were scars. Turns out they went into the fight like nothing happened, but… damage was sealed when he died." Alexandra tapped the pocket she had put the letters in. "Nate had a policy he did before any hunt, and after this one, I'm considering taking it up. He wrote a letter addressing all of us before each hunt in case things went south. Naturally, there's the one before the fight where it did go south, and he wants me to deliver it to my folks, let them read it- apologizing to Dad, forgiving him, telling how much he loves all of us, the works, then have me hold onto it." She sighed. "God, I can't believe I even said that." She squirmed a bit, then looked down and kicked at the floor.

Gabriel studied her more, taking it all in once again. Sure, they had their arguments but her just blurting out the whole story required a lot of trust. Not to mention there she was, in a rare weak moment, and she was letting him see it. He pulled her into a hug, and she just about sagged against him. "You break my heart, kid- well, my vessel's heart, but you get the point." He pulled back. "You set to go now?"

She sighed. "Get it over with, right?"

Gabriel shrugged, then pressed his fingers to her forehead again. They were barely back at Roy's long enough to see it was just Joe, Alana, Roy and Hannah left in the living room, and the others were a couple of rooms before Joe was yelling again.

"And where the Hell is- There you are! What the Hell was that, just flying off when I was trying to get answers?"

Gabriel turned to him. "Have you noticed that your accent gets thicker when you're angry?"

Alexandra pushed him aside. "Mom, Dad, uh, you guys need to see something- Hannah, you too. It might be hard to grasp, but… um… right. When I… died… I uh… I kinda, sorta went to heaven and um… found Nate there and uh… " She squirmed when they all went wide-eyed and gawked at her. "I know this sounds insane, I really do. Hell, I'm still having trouble believing it happened, but… he told me to let you take a look at this… we missed them last time we went to the house since we didn't even look in the attic. It's a letter… he used to do them after any-"

"Hunt?" Joe cut her off.

Alexandra nodded hesitantly.

Joe laughed weakly. "He got it from me…"

Alana took hold of his wrist and moved her hand in a gentle half circle. The others figured the action must've been the universal action for Hennessey women that said 'be quiet', because Joe instantly snapped out of his trance and looked up at his eldest daughter. It was a lot to grasp for all of them, but they were willing to hear her out. They had seen far too much to think her story was just something from her imagination, or even a hallucination. When Alexandra held out the final letter Nate wrote, Joe took it carefully.

Gabriel backed off quietly, filing into the room with the other men and angels.

Upon seeing him, Julie scrambled out of her spot in Castiel's arms and ran over to him. "Uncle Gabel!" She launched herself at him, and the archangel picked her up. "How you doin', Princess?"

"Better now that you guys are okay." Julie replied, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Gabriel chuckled, then tucked her hair behind her ear. What were they gonna do with her now? She was still unaccounted for at the hospital, her dad was dead, and her mom was a copy, who was also dead. He figured he could just snap his fingers and come up with new documents and edit the hospital records and workers' memories. Then again, that wasn't the only thing he needed to do as far as hospital workers went. They were still one person short. He'd have to fix that, even if Alexandra had asked him not to. He snapped out of his thoughts and offered a tight-lipped, reluctant smile to the others in the room before glancing at the bed. His smile faded, seeing James unconscious and not looking well at all. "What happened to him?"

Hael shrugged. "Didn't take well to flying."

Gabriel paused, then snorted.

Dean arched an eyebrow. "You try being human and flying with you guys for the first time."

Gabriel waved him off. "Relax. I'm just thinking the guy deserved it."

"You didn't even speak to the real… him." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but if Alex didn't even sense anything wrong the whole time, the copy was in character pretty well, so the guy must be a di- ahem, jerk, anyway."

Dean opened his mouth to protest out of instinct, then once again realized that the archangel had a point. He shrugged and leaned back. "So how are they doing out there? Where'd you and Alex go?"

"They're fine, just handling family stuff. We went to get letters that her brother left after every hunt in case things went bad. Apparently he and Joe had some nasty fight a couple of days before Nate died and that last letter had an apology about everything… " He shrugged. "You sure you guys aren't related to these guys, because that just screamed 'Winchester' to me."

"Who knows?" Dean leaned back, sitting on the couch behind him. Everyone glanced at him curiously, having expected a snappy response as opposed to that. They all left it at that they were all exhausted from the day's events. They waited in silence until it was too quiet in their opinion. After deliberation about who would go out to see if it was clear to come out, Gabriel snapped up a few twigs into existence, trying to get a good hold on them while holding Julie with one arm. "Alright, boys. Short one's the one who goes out."

"Then isn't it you by default?" Dean asked.

Gabriel shot him a glare, then held up the twigs. "I'm babysitting. You're not."

Dean winked at him and smirked before taking one, and the others took one a moment later. Castiel ended up being the one with the shortest stick, and the angel glanced at Gabriel like he had a sinking suspicion that the angel had planned that. Dean and Sam merely shrugged, surprised it wasn't one of them that had to go out. The angel began to protest, but Dean shoved him out of the room all the same. "Go see if we won't walk in on anything." The others strained to hear what the angel was saying when they heard him speaking. When they failed to hear the conversation, they all returned to the living room, figuring it was alright to come out of hiding by then. Despite the sad smiles that Joe, Hannah and Alana had, they figured the conversation that they shouldn't have been present for had ended. They assumed it was getting close to time to say goodbye.

Joe and Alana stood up. Joe took the lead and exhaled sharply, wiping at his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Right, well, I guess you were all right. I mean, everyone's alive and in one piece, Soren's head… it all worked out. So… " He extended his hand, starting with Dean. Alana followed down the line, trying to stop her own tears as she gave each of the men a hug. Joe was the only one who had the ability to speak at that point, even if his voice cracked as he started to say this thanks. "Thank you, all of you. I appreciate all you've done. Watching out for my girls, helping that out, everything." He shook Sam's hand, then Castiel's, before moving to Gabriel. He shook the angel's hand, then the mixed look of happiness and sadness hardened. "I'm watching you. You hurt either of my daughters, apparently Alex in particular-"

Gabriel shook his head. "Sir, with all due respect, Roy's been there and done that, and spoken for you with the death threats. Killing me is covered a thousand times over if I hurt either of them." Gabriel replied.

Joe nodded after a moment. "I know you're an archangel and have angel business to attend to, but… just… watch them for me, hm?"

"Consider it done." Gabriel replied. "Oh, one last thing. You mind if we let James stay and someone comes to pick him up later? I doubt he'd be okay with getting flown around again."

Joe nodded and stepped back.

Gabriel turned back. "Alright, all of you losers headed back to Alex's place, get over here to fly!"

Dean pointed outside. "You're not leaving my baby-"

Gabriel snapped his fingers. "It's meeting us there."

Dean frowned. "So why didn't you-?"

"It'd hurt more if I snapped you people away."

"But-"

Gabriel snapped his fingers again, and Dean's voice died out completely. The elder Winchester tried to speak, and when he failed, he turned to Sam and looked murderous, mouthing 'not again.' Sam, in turn, just shrugged. The archangel looked at Castiel. "You set?"

Castiel nodded and reached for Dean and Sam, and Gabriel reached for the remaining three set to go back.

* * *

Within seconds, they were back again.

Dean let out a relieved sigh, then beamed that it was audible. "Awesome." He tested out, and when that was audible to, his grin widened. "Thanks, Gabriel." He turned, then the smile dropped when he saw the archangel had pinned Alexandra to the nearest wall and was kissing the breath out of her. "Oh, come on. You can't wait ten seconds? Julie, come here, you don't need to see that!" He pulled the girl over to him, then covered her eyes with his leather jacket. Julie made a sound of protest, and Dean shook his head. "No. I'm not letting you see that. You can't see it and can't do it until you're married… and forty. Uncle Sam, Cas, Roy and Gabriel will make sure of that- Would you two get a room already?" He demanded when he could've sworn he heard Alexandra let out a little moan.

Sam shook his head and laughed at Dean's reaction, as well as Hannah's, which was covering her ears, closing her eyes, and running upstairs. He tried to tune out the other two as best he could, laughing harder when he heard some of Dean's mumbled rant, including 'Bipolar feelings with him', 'make up your mind', 'Cas, stop watching' and 'horrible match.'

Gabriel finally pulled back from Alexandra. "You have… no idea how long I've waited to do that."

Alexandra let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, that was a pretty good idea of how long."

Dean shook his head. "I can't take this anymore…" He went over to the window and pushed the curtains aside, making sure the Impala was there in one piece. "Okay, Sam, I'd say it's time to go now, before I puke- Hotel time for the next case. Let's move."

Sam shook his head, then approached Alexandra, giving her a quick hug. "Thanks for everything. You still have our numbers, right?"

"Mm hm." Alexandra nodded.

Sam turned to Gabriel, blinked a couple of times, then threw caution to the wind, even slightly. "Thanks to you too, Gabriel…"

Gabriel smirked and nodded back. "You got it, Sam."

Dean looked down and waved. "I can't… bye. We'll check in every so often." He looked at Gabriel. "You know, if you feel the need to kick ass with us, fine, but I you just pop up in the Impala randomly when I'm driving, I will end you."

"I'd like to see you try, Deano." Gabriel replied.

Dean glared, then grabbed Castiel's arm and dragged him towards the front door and out of the house, muttering under his breath as he did so. Sam offered one final wave. "Tell Hannah we said bye, too."

"Will do. Take care." She watched him leave, then closed the door behind him before returning to the living room and collapsing on the couch. Gabriel sat next to her. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Well that was…"

"Entertaining?"

"Well, I was going to say the most bizarre experience of my life, but if you wanna look at it from a physically impossible optimistic level, yeah, it was entertaining, too."

"Hope nothing like it ever happens again?" Gabriel asked.

"Oh, hell yes. Never again… ever. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna pass out again and sleep for three days straight. You may wanna go bother the Winchesters. I don't care. Just don't get them killed… or kill them yourself-"

"I only killed-"

"Dean, yes, I know. Shut up. I'm enjoying the peace."

Naturally, that peace only lasted a week afterwards.


	24. Hope That Things Work Out All Right

**A/N: Okay, so I guess this is just a general last chapter because it would be considered a very, very long epilogue… ah well. Deleted/Alternate scenes are next, and this is over. Phantom Creedy lover did an illustration for the first part of this was made. She's not fond of it, but I thought it fit and it's pretty funny, so… yeah. Enjoy. I don't own SPN, and I don't own North Beach, because there's a reference in here, which kinda makes this chap a mini crossover, but whatever. Enjoy.**

* * *

Eight months later:

Alexandra glared down at her cell phone, hoping it would ring. The Winchesters were supposed to be at her house by then. Three days ago, a very drunk Dean and sober Sam had requested their group to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with her and Roy since they were in the area, and she accepted. Now, here it was, Christmas Eve, and there was no call from either of them- not even the angels or their friend Bobby who she was supposed to meet. Sam had said he would call her back when Dean was sober to confirm everything, and there was no call whatsoever. Sure, they could've just been busy, but they were hunters and angels. No call to check in when they said they would probably meant trouble. "Come on, guys. Where are you?" She poked the phone, then sighed. It was like waiting for water to boil- it would take even longer if you sat and stared. She got up and started to tidy up, even if she had been doing that for the past couple of days. She found a couple of empty bags of candy shoved between the cushions and sighed. With all the candy lovers in the house now , it could've been anyone's. She went into the kitchen and tossed them in the trash.

An odd scratching at the door caught her attention, and she stared at the door for a while. "Who is it?" She called. Roy wasn't due for another couple of hours, and the brothers had probably forgotten which house was hers by now with all the places they had gone lately. The scratch continued for a couple of seconds, then the doorbell rang for a good while longer than it should've. She sighed and opened the door a few inches and poked her head out. She frowned, seeing the spot in front of her vacant. She looked around again to try and catch any type of moment. When she was unsuccessful she sighed and was about to go back inside, figuring it was the wind when she felt something tug at the bottom of her jeans, then just stared for a while. A red fox was on the stoop, staring back at her. The thing looked familiar somehow, but as she stared, she realized how dumb the idea that it was familiar actually was. Foxes weren't even supposed to live anywhere near the area, and it was a _damn fox_- an animal she had never seen except for in a zoo years back and her vacations in California.

"Um…" She wasn't sure whether to be freaked out or just not have any reaction when the fox just kept staring at her. She looked up when there was a rather sounding bark a short distance away. The next thing she knew, the fox literally jumped up into her arms, and she yanked it back. "What the f… Hey, get the Hell off!" She yanked it back so she was glaring at it at eye level, and the fox bowed its head and looked as if it was attempting to play innocent. There was another bark, and the fox scrambled to get closer to her again.

Alexandra yanked it back again, but less than before. She arched an eyebrow when a German shepherd came trotting up to the stoop and sat down, staring at the fox and snarling. "What… the Hell… is going on?" If she hadn't been a hunter, she would've been freaked out, but there was clearly something she was missing. She ducked, then gawked more when an owl flew over and landed on the banister, and a Great Dane also joined the German Shepherd. "Ah, bu…" Just what was this? A fox more interested in keeping away from the dogs than following its nature and being a nasty little thing, the two dogs weren't going after the fox, and there was a _freakin' nocturnal_ owl on the banister. "Christo..." The four animals continued to stare blankly. She sighed. "If PETA could see me now," She put the fox down, despite it trying to claw its way back into her arms. The fox touched down and bolted on top of the banister, nearly knocking the owl off balance. The German shepherd barked again, and Alexandra bolted back inside, only to get salt. She turned back and tossed the salt from side to side, trying to get each of the animals. Nothing happened, but the dogs and fox whined and turned away briefly. The German Shepherd shook itself, then trotted up the stairs.

"Ay!" Alexandra pointed at it. "Stay."

The dog lowered his head and whined again, then its head shot up and he started barking at her. The dog looked more put out than anything. She sighed and bent down slightly, getting a better look at the thing. "What's up with you little things, huh?" She frowned. She had never seen any dog with eyes that green. Hell, that was Dean Winchester green. "Who messed with you poor things, huh?" She looked at the owl, then glanced at the others. That was, until she noticed something similar about the owl that she had with the Shepherd- its eyes were blue- and not just any blue- _Castiel _blue. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked at the fox's eyes- gold. Sure, it was a natural color for foxes, but there was just something about them- something Gabriel-esque. She clenched her jaw and looked at the Great Dane. One person, and therefore one color was left. Sure enough, the taller dog's eyes were brown- Sam's. She closed her eyes. Now she had seen it all. Sam, Dean and Gabriel wagged their tails- now _there _was a thought, and Castiel, as always, just stared and tilted his head, though it went further than it would in human form. Alexandra ran her hand over her face. "All of you inside now. We'll get to why you're here at my house later. Let's just get you in before my neighbors call animal control." She propped open the door and motioned inside.

Sam and Dean hesitated, then glared at Gabriel, who launched himself into Alexandra's arms again. He just about smirked at the boys- dogs, whatever.

She sighed. "I'm guessing this is your fault. Why can't you just mojo yourself back to normal?" She asked. Gabriel just blinked at her, and she shook her head. "And I'm talking to my boyfriend who is currently a fox right now. I can see why whoever did it picked a fox for you, too. Great. Now, get your paws off my breasts… literally." Gabriel resettled himself in her arms to obey her, and she kicked open the door. "Come on you three, in." Sam and Dean padded inside, and Castiel flew in behind them.

Alexandra followed them in, watching them go into the living room. "Cas, uh… land on something wood, okay? Not the back of the couch or anything?" She headed in and sat down, watching as Castiel tried to get his footing on the mantle. She put Gabriel down on the couch, and he still tried to get as far from the brothers-turned-dogs as possible. She laced her fingers together and looked down. Just what was she supposed to ask, now? "Um… okay… is there… any way you can tell me what happened?"

Dean barked a couple of times and raised his paw in Gabriel's direction before barking again.

"I kinda figured it was Gabriel's fault… uh… any way of… telling me who did this… or what?"

Sam whined and stood upright before going into the hallway that led to the guestroom. A moment later, he came back and whined again.

Alexandra sighed. "I take I should follow you, then?"

Sam did a dog's version of a smile and barked, then went back in.

Alexandra shook her head, then got up, only to turn when Gabriel hurried after her. "Gabe, stay put. Dean, don't kill my boyfriend. Please." She flinched. "God, it feels weird saying that now." She turned back and headed after Sam. She saw him go into the guest room, where all the magic books were. "Alright, Sam, how are we gonna handle talking about this?"

Sam tilted his head, then looked at the shelf.

"You can still read that?" Alexandra offered, then laughed when Sam turned to her and had the same put-out look Dean had. "Hey, at least now you can actually do that puppy look when you're… well, a grown up puppy."

Sam growled, then turned back to the books. After a few moments, he went up on his hind legs and scratched at one of the books, letting out a small 'woof.'

Alexandra glanced at what it was- a collection of mythology about witches. She frowned. "Witch, huh? Must've been pretty powerful if they did something that Gabe can't fix, huh?"

Sam bowed his head as if he was shrugging.

Alexandra bent down. "You know, I can't believe that I'm used to this already, and you're gonna hate me, but…" She scratched behind his ears. "You're adorable as a dog."

Sam pulled back sharply and trotted out of the room.

She smiled again, then went to the other shelf and got the atlas she had. "Next step. Great. I need to kill someone to help these guys on Christmas Eve. Fan-freakin-tastic." She went back into the living room and had to jump back when Gabriel came skidding around the corner and darted under her, with Dean in tow. "GABRIEL, DEAN, KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW! I WORKED HARD TO TRY AND MAKE THIS WORK AND YOU ARE NOT GONNA DESTROY THE HOUSE TO ADD TO THIS DAY GOING TO HELL!"

Both of the men-turned-animals skidded to a halt again and looked at her before sitting up as straight as they could in their new forms.

She sighed. "Okay, now, is this lady local or outta state?"

Dean barked.

Alexandra clenched her jaw. "Dean, I don't speak dog."

Dean went over to her, tugged on her jeans leg with his teeth, and went back towards the door.

Alexandra blinked. "I take that means local?"

Dean barked again, and like Sam had shrugged, Dean nodded. "How local?"

Dean scratched the door and looked back at her.

"Walking or driving distance?"

Another bark.

Alexandra ran her hand over her face. The other questions would go as well as that one would. "Alright, then we're driving and Roy's dog, fox and owl sitting."

None of the animals looked thrilled with that.

Alexandra pointed at the car. "My God. This is worse than when I had to bail all of you out of jail in October and the time I had to deal with Pete…" She shuddered, remembering the two events. When they had landed themselves in prison, she had all but slammed the money down and left, leaving them to catch up to her. When Gabriel had to do angel business vessel-less, he had just left his vessel, Pete, a stoner from somewhere in California, with her, leaving her to deal with his talkative, way too energetic nature, even without the drugs. She kept having to point out that her face was above her chest, too. No wonder Gabriel had no trouble adjusting to him. They had way too many similarities. She snapped out of remembering the times and refocused on the others. "Guys, we have no time for any other plan. I'll get my stuff to kill the bitch, then you guys are gonna show me where she lives. I'm gonna backtrack to Roy's _where you'll stay_ 'til it's done. Comprende?"

Gabriel stood up and started darting back and forth around the room, then looked at her.

Alexandra shook her head. "Gabe, I don't speak fox, either. If you're trying to help me, well… you're not."

Gabriel's ears went down and he hunched over. Dean did the equivalent to a chuckle, which earned him a paw to the eye. A moment later, the two were trying to rip each other apart again, and the only human in the room gave up and went to find her weapons and bag of tricks. Five minutes and another broken up dog versus fox fight later, they were headed to the car. Needless to say, Sam took up just about the entire backseat of Alexandra's car, so the others had to cram in the front, and between another impending fight and the lack of space, to say that Alexandra knew that it was going to be miserable was an understatement. "Okay, guys, listen up. One bark or whine or hoot or whatever for straight, two for a left turn, three for a right. Got it?"

Sam was the only one to respond for that one, pawing at her shoulder.

"Okay. Right. Just gimme a sec…" She pulled her cell phone out and dialed Roy's number. "Hey, Uncle Roy… yeah, I'm gonna need you to watch the Winchesters, Gabe and Cas for me… oh, because the boys are dogs, Gabe's a fox, and Cas… well, is Cas… no, seriously. They're dogs and foxes- four legs, hair, snouts, everything… uh huh…. I know… … Thanks." She hung up. "Alright, game ti- Oh, Hannah and Jules are back from getting the groceries now. Shit." She turned off the ignition and sunk lower into her seat as Hannah came over, bag of groceries in one hand while holding Julie's own hand in the other.

"Hey, Alex, uh… where are you going? And why are we dog sitting on Christmas Eve- is that a fox… and an owl?"

Julie went up on her tiptoes to try and see what the other girl was talking about, then jumped back with a shriek when Gabriel looked back at her, before she burst out laughing.

"It's actually Gabriel, Hann. The Great Dane is Sam, the German shepherd is Dean, and the owl crushed in the corner over there is Castiel."

Hannah's smile faded. "What…?"

"A witch got the better of them, and now I have to find and kill her so we can have a nice Christmas Eve with everyone. I'm taking them to Roy's."

Hannah arched an eyebrow. "They can stay here with me, ya know."

"They're behaving here in the car, Hannah. Apparently this is Gabriel's fault so Dean keeps trying to kill him, and Sam's not far behind. I don't want you getting in the way of that."

Hannah nodded. "How's Cas, then?"

"Just hangin' out, taking everything in." She looked at the owl. "Right, Cas?"

The owl turned its head and stared, just as he would in his human form. So that explained why the witch made him an owl. Great. "I'll be back by five or so… hopefully. Preheat the oven for me, huh? All the info's in the book on the counter- Dean, keep going for Gabriel's tail again, I dare you. He's clawing into me enough to get leverage as it is."

Dean growled in protest, but backed off again.

Gabriel just about cackled, and Alexandra put him in her lap. "Knock it off both of you. Hann, I really have to find her before these guys drive me crazy."

Hannah backed off and wave. "Pray for me that I don't burn the house down!"

Alexandra shot her a glare before driving off.

* * *

As expected, trying to find the witches' house was quite difficult, having to get directions form animals. After a forty minute drive that should've taken twenty, she had found the house. She backtracked to Roy's and taken the boys' in. The older man had stared at the four transformed people, laughed, and asked if everything went well, what his niece wanted him to bring to the house later. She booked it back to the witch's house. She strapped anything she deemed necessary to herself, then headed to the side of the house. She waited to see movement inside the house, raising her magnum before she kicked in the door. She spotted a woman darting around the corner and managed to fire off a shot before something appeared beside her. She pivoted to get away from whatever it was, then relaxed when she saw it was Hael. "What- Hael! I thought- Cas and Gabe are here, so-"

Hael rolled his eyes. "Hayyel heard Gabriel yapping away and calling for help, I heard and came down to save you before you ended up an animal as well."

"Wait, so angels can understand-"

"Hayyel, can, yes, being that he's the angel of animals. Now, I'd highly suggest you close your eyes and cover your ears, darling."

Alexandra nodded and did as she was told, already knowing that he was about to take care of whoever this crazy lady was. The telltale high shriek indicated Hael was beginning, and another scream, barely audible over the shriek, indicated it was over with. She waited a few more seconds, then a hand on her shoulder was enough to tell her it was alright. "Thanks for that… coulda used it a few minutes earlier, but thanks all the same."

Hael patted her cheek lightly. "Fresh thing. Be grateful completely next time. Now, go back to your boys so this whole thing doesn't ruin the next couple of days and I can go sub in when Castiel and Gabriel are gone, hm?"

"You can't get anybody to fill in so you can come, too?" Alexandra asked.

Hael shrugged. "No, duty calls more than family these days, unfortunately. Besides, you know how all us angels feel about what Christmas has become. Gabriel's just staying because… well, he doesn't mind the holiday, actually. Not to mention you would kill him if he didn't stay anyway. Dean might die himself if he doesn't get to show Castiel a real traditional human family Christmas, hm? How about I take you and the metal deathtrap home instead?"

"Roy's, actually. Gotta pick up the boys if they're back to normal… and haven't killed each other yet."

Hael nodded, and pressed his fingers to her forehead. The next thing she knew, she was in Roy's front yard. Hael and her car appeared a few feet away on the road. Hael winked, then disappeared. She sighed and turned back. That went a lot better than she expected. Hell, it was heavy lifting for nothing, but the point that nothing went wrong after the men and angels-to-animals thing happened. There was no clean up required now- besides the dishes. She just hoped that her boys were back to normal. She turned to go into the house to see if that was the case, when Gabriel, back to human form, came bursting out of the front door, with Dean and Sam hot at his heels. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or just stare when she realized that the Winchesters' usual clothing was now bright pink.

"Can't run faster than us now, can you, Jackass?" Dean called, only slowing down when Gabriel hid behind Alexandra. "Oh, that's right, hide behind your girlfriend!"

Gabriel made a face at him, then looked at Alexandra and kissed her cheek. "I tried to say 'Hael', Babe. I was trying to spell out 'Hael' before. I wasn't just running around with excess energy."

"Coulda fooled me, and Hael helped me anyway. He says you're welcome, by the way. So what the Hell did you do to piss off that witch?"

Dean answered before the archangel had a chance. "Turned her down at a bar last night… and also told her that her technique in trying to curse people sucked, and then waved at us. You wanna know the problem with that? Two seconds before he waved, we were in my baby, making our way over here, so he set us up. I don't even know what he did to the Impala!"

Gabriel scoffed. "Relax, the Impala's fine. I'm trying to work with you boys. I can't leave the old me completely behind. I had to break the nice cycle somehow, and dragging you boys down with me when I figured the gal was gonna start something was it." He glanced at Castiel as the angel and Roy came out of the house, though he didn't have the pink problem. "Aaaand, I just dragged Cas into it because I was curious what she'd think of him."

Dean opened his mouth to protest again, but then stopped when Gabriel snapped his fingers and the Impala appeared behind Alexandra's car. He bolted over to his pride and joy and started a careful inspection, not trusting that Gabriel was true to his word.

Sam sighed, then looked at Alexandra , putting the main issue aside. "Hi, Alex, how are you?" He asked, though the smile he had when he asked was dripping with sarcasm.

"Good. How's my little Great Dane?" Alexandra asked, using a voice people usually did while referring to small or young dogs.

Sam shot her a warning look, then looked at Gabriel before tugging at his shirt. "Can you fix this now, please? You just said you wanted one prank and that was enough."

Gabriel shrugged. "Not in those words exactly…"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Just change the clothes back, please? I really don't feel like going into my bag now."

Gabriel sighed and snapped his fingers. "Killyjoy. Maybe this'll help."

Sam cringed and looked down, not exactly knowing what to expect. All he knew is that whatever Gabriel had just put him in was itchy as Hell, and he didn't like it. He sighed when he realized Gabriel had put him in some puffy, bright red, giant-snowflake printed sweater. "Really, Gabriel?"

"What, that's what you humans expect for Christmas, right? If it makes you feel better, check out Dean's."

Sam gave him a disapproving look, then to his brother, who was now sputtering because he had holiday sweater on, too. His was one of the pop-out ones, and it looked like he had a reindeer head popping out of his chest. Sam tried hard not to, but let the snort that was growing at. "Alright, fair enough. I still don't like it."

"Too bad for you." Gabriel replied with a wink.

Sam rolled his eyes. "See, Alex? This is what we have to deal with when you're not around. When you're not playing mom or mediator, it sucks."

Alexandra blinked. "I think I honestly liked you two better as a fox and dog. We had this talk on Thanksgiving, remember? I really don't care. He's just pranking you and being his usual wiseass self. He's not hurting you guys physically. It's his nature. Can we go home now, please? I really don't trust Hannah handling the cooking. Roy, this change anything in your timing?"

Roy glanced at his watch. "No. I'll still be around at six. Do you want to drive to your parents' house tomorrow or should I?"

"I will." Alexandra waved her hand. "Now, I really have to go before these guys really start going at it. We'll see you soon."

Roy nodded. "You got it, sweetheart. See you."

Alexandra turned around. "Alright, Gabe, Castiel, with me."

Dean looked up from his task of trying to rip the reindeer off of the sweater. Naturally, it seemed to be magically stuck there. "What? No! I'm not leaving Cas with him,"

"It saves you the trouble of having Gabe pop in to annoy you two about 'trying to corrupt his brother' because he 'wants to corrupt him himself'."

Dean set Gabriel with another look, then nodded. "Fine, but just because I trust you, not him."

Gabriel sighed. "Deano, how many times have I saved your ass in the past few months?"

"Not as many times as you killed me, Asshole!" Dean shot back.

Gabriel went to retort, then arched an eyebrow and shrugged one shoulder. The retort dropped.

The two remaining humans sighed and looked at each other. "Dean's got a point…" Sam muttered.

Alexandra shrugged. "I'm not denying that. I'm just trying to get everyone home so we don't have to subject anyone else to it." She looked at him. "I'm honestly surprised you've taken all of this with him in strides. I mean, Dean wasn't around for that whole Mystery Spot thing…"

Sam shrugged. "I try to look for the things that can even out the bad. It's the least I can do after all the crap I've been through. Besides, like you said, he's good to you. I trust you and you trust him, so… I'm willing to let some of that anger go."

Alexandra beamed before giving him a sideways hug. "You're great, you know that?"

"I try." Sam returned.

The two turned their attention back to the other two, who had gone back to arguing. "Guys!" They called simultaneously.

The two paid no attention. Sam sighed. "You and I get Dean, Cas gets Gabriel?" He looked at the remaining angel. "You okay with that?"

"It appears we don't have much choice in the matter." Castiel replied, fidgeting with his trench coat. He stopped and tilted his head. "Your sister is calling for Gabriel and I. Something has started burning."

"Oh, HELL NO. Everybody, cars, now!" When the arguers still didn't stop, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Dean, if you don't get your ass to the Impala, I'm not making you that pie I promised you, and Gabe, if you don't, you're cut off for a month."

The man and angel moved towards their assigned rides so fast it threw Sam for a loop. "Wow. Now I don't wanna bother complaining about the second part of that."

Alexandra laughed and smacked his arm lightly. "Then thank you. Now let's go before they start making faces at each other in the cars."

* * *

Alexandra blinked at the charred salmon in the pan that had been smoking since they had gotten home and Gabriel had put out the flames that had started to rise from it when they got back. "Could be worse, I guess. I mean, I can always make sausage or meatballs in place of the fish…" She trailed off.

Gabriel snorted. "You've got me, remember?" He raised his fingers to snap, but Sam slapped them back down. He looked at the taller man. "What?"

Sam pointed at him. "No. You're not snapping anything into existence."

Gabriel pouted. "What, you're worried about what happened when you guys weaseled your way into having Thanksgiving here and I put the meal together."

Sam gaped at him. "You gave me food poisoning, Gabriel! Just me, too!"

Julie, who had attached herself to Gabriel's leg, which had been deemed 'her spot' when he was at the Hennessey house and not helping Castiel and Hael with angel business. "You poisoned Uncle Sam's food?"

Gabriel snorted at the phrase she had accidentally created, and her misunderstanding. "No, kiddo. I didn't poison him. His stomach just didn't like what I gave him." He replied, then looked at Sam and shrugged. "Hey, you always bring up the Dean issue from a few years back, I figured it would make you feel better since you were a target and he wasn't."

Sam pointed at Alexandra. "I was half conscious on her couch with a bucket next to my head for three days, Gabriel!"

"So I'm down to ninety seven days 'til it's even. Problemo solved." Gabriel countered.

Despite himself, Dean laughed, then looked at Alexandra. "Alright, Lex, what can we do to help?"

"All of you can go sit down because I don't trust any of you around a kitchen."

Dean snorted. "Hey, I make good spaghetti-O's. You're making linguine, aren't you? What's the difference?"

" A lot. Now go get settled in the living room for a while and play nice."

Dean snorted. "Whatever, Lexi. You're loss." He winked at her to show he meant no harm, then followed the others into the living room. After a few moments, his voice carried into the kitchen. "Hey, look, The Ref's on. Awesome!"

She sighed and smiled, then turned to the fridge to see what she could make as a replacement for the fish. It looked like meatballs and sausages were the only option. She went to work cooking, and hoped nothing else would go wrong. Things went well for a few minutes after that, and she was headed back into the living room because it seemed too quiet between the men and angels when there was a knock at the door. The woman looked down at her watch- 5:15. Roy liked being punctual, and this clearly wasn't. "Gabriel…?"

Gabriel shrugged, not looking up from the rubik's cube he had snapped up. "Not Roy. It's fine, though. You can open it. It's not gonna kill you."

"… 'it'?"

Gabriel looked up and winked. "I for one like what you adorable people have turned tomorrow into, so I joined the bandwagon and threw it a present. Not gonna lie, it's probably the best one you've ever gotten." He smirked when Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh relax, you and Sam got one too- well, the Impala did, more than you guy, but… it's the thought that counts, isn't it?" He looked at Julie, sitting beside him. "Right?"

Alexandra shrugged, then headed for the door and opened it, half expecting to see a box in the middle of the stoop. That certainly wasn't the case. She tried hard not to gawk, but failed miserably at that.

The woman on the other end smiled nervously at her. "Um… hi. I… totally know how bad and creepy this is about to sound and look, on today of all days, but um… my car broke down just over there, and my cell died on the way back from my parents' house, and I was wondering if I could use your phone, by any chance? I just moved here and I was looking around and your place looks like the most welcoming out of the bunch over here and… oh my God, it sounds horrible just to me. I'm so embarrassed."

Alexandra continued to stare, only managing to blink a couple of times after she apologized. Sure, she had fallen for that not even a year ago and the person ended up being Soren in disguise, who ended up killing her, but she could barely wrap her head around who was on the other side.

The woman looked down. "I don't blame you for staring. Really, I don't. I um… Oh God, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Jane Reinello. I just moved here for a job at the doctor's office. Well, uh, thanks anyway."

Alexandra's voice finally came back. "No! No, it's okay! Come in, sorry, just kind of zoned out. I have a lot on my mind. Come in, why don't you? My friend can show you the phone. I have a couple of things to do." She stepped aside quickly.

Jane raised her eyebrows. "Uh, really? Wow. Thank you so much." She stepped inside and looked around in that same uncomfortable way Alexandra remembered she always looked at things when she was uncomfortable. She tried hard not to stare, instead dragging Dean over to her. "Kyle, can you show her the phone, please?"

Dean opened his mouth, gaping as much as she had been. "Sure, uh, come on. You say your name was Jane, right?"

Jane nodded rapidly. "Mm hm."

Dean smiled weakly. "Great. Come on, right this way." He motioned for him to follow her, then saw her staring at the reindeer. "Practical joke from the guy in the corner over there. I know it's hideous. I'm keeping it on to humor him- my brother's the same way over there."

Jane laughed, then shuffled after him.

Alexandra nearly fell over when Dean led her back into the kitchen. "Gabe, you…?"

"Mm hm. Merry Christmas, babe."

Alexandra stared at him for a while. "Sam, the cooking is just about done. Can you finish it up and then get it ready to serve?"

Sam rolled his eyes, knowing where this was going. He looked at Hannah, who looked like she was thinking along the same lines. He looked at Castiel, who for once, looked more annoyed than confused. Maybe he caught on and disapproved, too. Good for him. "Sure, Alex."

Alexandra beamed. "Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She grabbed the front of Gabriel's shirt and pulled him up, with him grinning the whole way. "I have to go thank him properly." She lead him upstairs.

Sam waited for them to reach the top, then laughed, dodging the slipper Hannah through at his head. "What? I'm laughing because I saw that coming."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "So did I. Doesn't mean I wanna think about it. Hell, I've_ heard_ it once or twice."

The comment only started up more laughter from Sam. Hannah pouted, and Julie looked between them. "I don't get it. Heard what? And why does Aunt Alex have to go away with Uncle Gabe to thank him?"

The other three stared at the girl, then Sam picked her up and put her into Castiel's lap as he headed for the kitchen. "All of your aunts and uncles here will make sure you don't know the answer until you're at least forty, Julie Girl." He just smiled when Julie joined the other pouting girl and folded up as small as she could, oblivious to the fact that her heels dug into Castiel's thighs. If he felt it, the angel wasn't letting on. The hunter went into the kitchen, offering a quick smile at Jane when he headed for the stove to get the meatballs and sausages out. He wondered how long it would be before the young woman would find out the truth about their real careers. He hoped for her sake that it wasn't one of the angels just appearing out of thin air in front of her again. He had a feeling that would be the case either way. That stunk. Well, she would just have to adjust, like she had at least started to last time. It was the life of a hunter, anyway- fight many things that were only supposed to be fairytales and myths, make connections and surrogate families, see them as often as possible, like they were now, because who knew when it would be the last time they saw each other, die once, twice, or three times, whatever, and consider yourself lucky if you had a roof over your head every night.

Yeah, a hunter's life sucked, but hey, everyone in the house at the moment that was a hunter or one of those myths-turned-reality seemed to roll with the punches and deal with it. He couldn't find any fault in that.


	25. Deleted and Extended Scenes

**A/N: Sorry. Life got a jump on me. Anyways, here are the deleted/alternate scenes. Enjoy.**

* * *

**First deleted scene. It's quick, just a little dialogue between Gabe and Hannah. I think we had this in Chapter 4.**

SPN

Hannah slammed the door shut as she came in, dropping her messenger bag down in the corner as she did so. "Gabriel!"

The archangel was in the corner diagonally across from her, still trying his luck with interacting with inanimate objects. He looked up, surprised to hear herr sound annoyed. He had never heard her at any level other than calm."What?"

Hannah took a paper out of her pocket and opened it, showing it to him. "My notes on Loki for that class I mentioned. The information you gave me was crap. Do you see all the marks on here that my professor did? Apparently over half of it is wrong."

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, that's the point, isn't it?"

Hannah arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Gabriel smirked. "Loki was a trickerous bastard, Princess. The only reason he let me pose as him for a while is because I outsmarted him about something that I don't remember because he knocked me out afterwards. You can't trust any of that information because he wasn't one to be trusted. No one can know much because no one knows the truth of any of the stories. Comprende?"

Hannah blinked twice, then looked impressed. "Huh."

Gabriel's smirk turned into a genuine smile. "Yep,"

Hannah got a nearby pen and started writing on the back of the paper.

* * *

**Second deleted scene, quick dialogue, sisters being sisters as well as surrogate aunts. Placed somewhere around chapter 7 and 8.**

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Alexandra finished the French braid Julie had asked for in her hair and leaned back. "See? There you go, you look adorable."

Julie moved her head so she could see half of it in the mirror. "Uncle Gabel said being adorable may be a bad thing."

"'Uncle Gabel' says a lot of things, Sweetie." Alexandra shrugged.

Julie looked up at her. "So how come you and Uncle Gabel aren't married? Mommy and Daddy are... were married, and you guys act just like them."

Alexandra coughed. "It's different, hon."

"How?" Julie asked.

Alexandra sighed and sat down. "For starters, there is absolutely nothing betw-EEN!" She merely flailed, almost in midair, as Hannah shoved her out of the seat and sat down.

"They're not married because Uncle Gabriel is dumb and Aunt Alex is completely blind to the way he looks at her and how they act like a married couple already." Hannah replied, playing with the girl's new braid. She smirked when Alexandra scoffed. "What? It's like that term in Biology I don't remember. You guys are already a couple and a family and you took place of her parents."

"Not willingly, mind you." Alexandra snapped. "And Gabriel doesn't give me any looks-"

Hannah motioned at her sister, then looked at Julie. "See what I mean? Blind."

The girl only giggled in return, then skipped off, probably to attend to the drawing she had been making earlier.

* * *

**Another deleted, and the situation is basically described in the first paragraph. It's set somewhere around chapter five or six.**

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Gabriel looked between James and Alexandra. Just about an hour before, James had invited Alexandra out to dinner- 'just the two of us, friendly, nothing more-I am a married man, after all.' The archangel, who had been standing not ten feet away, didn't like that one bit. The guy gave Gabriel the creeps from the start, even with all the creeps Gabriel had dealt with before, and the way James had asked Alexandra to dinner- he didn't seem to hope for 'just friends.' Gabriel wanted to shove any clothing a la Winchester onto her. He demanded he went with them as a chaperone. Alexandra had thrown a fit, then after their usual argument, he won because she gave up. He took a spot in the backseat, making a running commentary on everything James said on the way to the restaurant. To her credit, Alexandra managed to keep her cool. The restaurant was another story. James had left to go to the bathroom, and just as Gabriel turned her and asked "Can we leave now?"

She smacked through him. "Are you five or something? If you feel like the third wheel here, it's your damn fault!"

"I resent the punch, and why?"

"I can barely hear the guy! Stop with the 'this guy's a douchebag', 'There are soooo many more meanings to thar phrase', 'please, he never did that, I can sense it'- no, you can't sense it. You don't have your powers back- not to mention-"

"I can read him, Al, he's no good. I swear, he calls himself a happily married man- he stares at your rack more than I do!"

Alexandra clenched her jaw at him, then shook her head. "I hate you."

"You say that to the guy looking out for you and making sure he doesn't spike your drink with anything? Love you too, Xena."

"He's my friend. He wouldn't do anything."

"Are you that naïve?"

"Are you that possessive? You're insane-"

"Protective, not possessive, and as far as insane… am I? If you haven't noticed, to the people around you, you're talking to an empty chair."

Alexandra went to retort, then realized he was right. She cast a quick glance around to see if Gabriel had come up with that cop out after seeing someone looking. No one was, which only led her to glare the archangel down again until James returned.

Gabriel shrugged.

Alexandra stared at him for a while, then sighed. "I need a drink. I'm running to the bar, follow me and-"

"You'll find a way to kill me, I know." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

She merely winked before heading in the other direction.

Gabriel watched her, then glanced over when he saw James coming back from the bathroom. He frowned when he could've sworn the other man looked right at him briefly before sitting back down. He figured it was nothing- it was just the eager-to-find-a-victim-to-mess-with part of him on overdrive. He settled for imagining the original plan of having James fall down several sets of stairs and surviving just to have other bad luck happen.

* * *

**Deleted from chap... 15...ish. Our favorite scene of this bunch.**

Gabriel sat down next to Alexandra. He didn't know why, but the protectiveness kicked in more than usual, seeing her laying there, with her mind going a mile a minute. Sure, he felt like he was part of the problem because he brought up the married comment, but he still had the sudden urge to find James and punch him in the face… or make him fall down a set of stairs or some high point, whichever he deserved more. Hell, in that case, he would have to get the guy to the Grand Canyon. "You okay?"

"Fine. Just tired." She replied.

"Come on. I already know you better than that." Gabriel countered .

Alexandra scoffed. "Says the guy who's known me for days."

"That's actually saying something, Sweetheart."

"Exactly." She rolled onto her stomach, then off the bed. "This isn't helping."

"What? Me checking on you, or being the only guy in your bed for ages? Wait, I know that was a low blow, and I'm sorry, but it's true. Don't say it's not." The only answer was a grunt. Gabriel rolled onto his back, struggling a moment to get his center of balance correct. He figured he had gotten used to it by now, but clearly he hadn't. When he saw her look like she was about to say something, he tried to channel Sam and offered a puppy face. "What?"

"If you haven't noticed, most of my family sucks with relationships, and it comes with the territory of being a hun-"

"Have you asked Sam and Dean about their relationships?"

"Like I said, comes with the job. I mean, no guy's been remotely interested-"

"They're idiots." Gabriel cut her off. "Hey, look, if this is about to get all Wash and Kaylee as it seems like it is, you're pretty, and if I could, I would take you in a manly fashion."

Alexandra rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever. I just... I wish I could have someone other than family or family by default here for me, you know?"

Gabriel looked away, raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself.

Alexandra laughed. "But you're... you're different. I mean, someone who's gonna be here most of the time, not someone who's here for me... because they need to be and feel... inclined since I'm doing them a favor."

Gabriel scoffed. "And I thought I delivered a low blow. Why can't you accept that I wasn't joking for once when I told you I'm not gonna drop you when this is over. I'm gonna check in because you deserve it. Not because you're helping me, but because you deserve something with all the stuff you've done."

"As far as the question... experience? Hell, you've heard about my time with Soren and what happened... it's bullshit."

Gabriel sighed. "Well, put it this way. I'm not him... and let's back up, shall we? At least you have family who loves you. Hannah adores you, your parents are alive, and ugh, just the way they look at you... they're proud. Your uncle would probably die for you girls if it came to that- pray to my dad it doesn't, but... I don't have that. My family tried to tear each other apart- my brother stabbed me to death... well, my... more semi permanent than usual death, before you came along."

Alexandra looked at him, then flinched. "I'm doing it again. Damn it, I'm sorry. I just... here I am bitching, and you haven't bitched once, and... how come you can't stand me?"

"Because you don't give yourself enough credit, that's why. As far as bitching, I have way too much to bitch about- even with all the stuff you've been bitching about. Yours is a little anthill compared to my mountain."

"No arguements there." Alexandra replied. "Can we stop the cry fest now?"

"You got it." Gabriel nodded, then laughed. "Look at us, crying into our non-existent beers dreaming about the good old days. Why don't we just add our non-existent kids going off to college and kidnergarten. Aw, our little Gabe Junior and... Royina."

"... Royina?"

"Oh, don't pretend you wouldn't do it."

"Of course I wouldn't name her that, jerk!" Alexandra laughed, then looked up, losing the smile. "... ... She'd be Roya or Aroya or something like that." She looked at him, and the two cracked smiles.

Gabriel noticed she moved closer to him, and part of him realized that maybe he had just gotten through to her more than usual. Would it last? Probably not, but it was worth it all the same.

* * *

**First alternate scene that deserves an explanation because we wanted this in so, so bad. As we've even pointed out in this, we have a handful of clichés in this fic. We had more towards the end but figured we'd ace them to keep to the 'holy crap, we need to do this now now now' thing that was going on. So here's the alternate scene for the post-Roy-getting-stabbed bit, where the phone call didn't happen. We wanted Gabe to have a bit of a Castiel moment, so this was born, and have him bond with Roy in an unorthodox way.**

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Gabriel stared down the beer bottle in his hand that he had snapped up just a couple of minutes ago. What number bottle that was since he sat down beside a newly healed Roy, he couldn't remember. He didn't even know why he resorted to alcohol so fast in their situation. Then again, it was either alcohol or giving just desserts to the nearest idiot, now that his powers were back. Being that Roy happened to be the nearest person around, and the archangel would harm himself before he harmed Roy, the angel decided on getting drunk. Bad idea. Well, that was the price of training himself to get drunk when his vessel would've. Now he couldn't even think straight, and it was showing.

" I don' get it, Roy." Gabriel slurred, swinging his fist that held the bottle in a small semicircle. He sent the human an apologetic look when the contents nearly sloshed onto the carpet. "I just don't get it- don't get _women_. I mean, why do they have to be… themselves?" He looked back up at his companion and frowned, continuing his drunken rant. "Be all… powerful against us guys- the guys who let them, anyway." He hiccupped. "Is that the problem? Guys let them?" He looked down at the bottle as if it had the answer. "Guys suck." He finished.

Roy, still sober, let out a disbelieving laugh. He wasn't quite sure what should have blown his mind more- Gabriel was drunk, or the apparent ladies man- er, angel, was even considering the topic. "Now you're really starting to think like a human man. I finally see it. It's lousy you have to be drunk to do so." He replied.

Gabriel arched an eyebrow. "I thought I have been acting human. I've been told I'm the most human out of all of m' brothers… got killed over it, too." He replied, pointing at Roy while starting to sway slightly.

Roy sighed dramatically. "Can't say much on the last bit, but yes, you're close. The 'why are women the way they are?' thing. That's the thought of a real man."

"I'm not a man, though. 'M n' angel- archangel." Gabriel added, oblivious that he had just contradicted his own arguement.

Roy shook his head, then raised his own bottle to his lips, taking a small swig. "Could've fooled me."

Gabriel sighed. "…But… is it really jus' Soren that… tha' made Alex the way she is?"

Roy's sympathetic look dropped into a warning look. He wasn't liking where this was going. He was talking about his niece, after all. " 'The way she is'?"

Gabriel blinked again, then his jaw dropped a bit. "Right. Forgot you were her uncle…"

Roy stared at him, then took the bottle from Gabriel. "No more beer for you."

Gabriel started to protest, but it died in his throat. "What makes her think she can jus' boss me around'?" He groaned. "There's that 'I let her' again, huh?"

Roy just grunted in agreement, eyeing Gabriel's hands to make sure he wouldn't just snap up another beer.

Gabriel leaned back and let his head hit the wall. "Roy… am I 'n love?"

Roy raised his eyebrows. "That's…a kinda tall order there, Gabe."

Gabriel just looked up at him. "But am I? I mean, I know it's only been days and that's short, but longer than most of Hollywood's weddings, but-"

"Gabriel, I'm not entirely… comfortable with… talking about this… when she's not around… and the fact I'm her uncle and this is just plain weird." Roy replied.

"I just saved your life an hour ago! Sit n' listen." Gabriel objected.

Roy sighed and sat back down, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Gabriel let out an odd disbelieving laugh. "I jus'… I jus' don't get it- women- Alex." He waved his hand.

Out of experience with Hael, Roy saw the flourish and flinched, waiting for something to go flying across the room. When he didn't fall victim to any projectile, he relaxed. "Gabriel, er, Gabe, look. This feels so… ugh. It's… my niece is supposed to be ranting to me, not the one who she's upset at… or over, whatever."

"Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence." Gabriel snapped.

"Hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" Roy countered.

Gabriel nodded, then leaned his head on Roy's shoulder, causing the human beside him to screw up his face into a look of confusion mixed with surprise. "You're a good friend, Roy. G' friend." The angel patted the man's free shoulder. "D'ya think I'm overreacting about this?"

Roy blinked, then snorted. "Noooo!"

Gabriel scoffed and shook his head. "You n' Alex, man."

Roy looked back up at him. "What?"

Gabriel shook his head. "You… and… Alex. I bet she gets it from you."

"Gets what?" Roy repeated.

"The whole looking-away-when-you're-lying thing. Both of you always find the floor more interesting whenever you wanna stretch the truth, and that's a little insulting with a face like mine." Gabriel replied. He started to laugh, but it faded not a moment later. Roy noticed it look like he sobered up in that second, too. "…She wasn't looking at me." Gabriel muttered.

"Speak up, Gabe. If that thought sobered you up the fastest I've ever seen a man sober up, then-"

"They're in trouble." Gabriel looked at him.

"What…?"

"The girls." The archangel stood up.

Roy still just narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Alex, Hannah. Alex wasn't looking at me when she bit my head off. She didn't mean it. Hell, that could've been her way of telling me something was wrong. Damn it!" He kicked the corner of the island, then looked at Roy. "Where are the Muttonheads?"

"Muttonheads…?"

"Winchesters, Roy. Keep up." Gabriel started to pace.

Roy's jaw dropped. "Gabriel, you're suddenly sober after you were just as drunk as ten college kids put together. How can I? Anyway, still at the hotel, last they checked in."

"Good." Gabriel headed for the door, then looked back. "You coming?"

Roy just stared for a while, then sighed. The guy had just saved his life, so he owed him his trust. Whatever the Hell the angel was getting at, however, he would have to wait to understand. "Where to?"

"The hotel, then Alex and Hannah's place. If they're not gone already."

"Gone, what, Gabriel?" Before Roy could get an answer, Gabriel had practically slapped him in the forehead, and they were gone.

* * *

**A/N: Different way of Gabriel finding out James isn't quite James. It's placed after Gabe gets kicked out, and it was around when we had the idea where Gabriel would kind of come to the conclusion he did above, but on his own, and he didn't want to mess with the Winchesters or Roy after the fight. We also came up with some drug that could take down an archangel and didn't have any idea where to go with it other than this...**

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Gabriel looked at the dark haired man after he had let the archangel in. He was in no mood for pleasantries, and James didn't look thrilled about his presence, anyway. News must travel fast with this group. "James, we could use all the help we could get for this one."

James turned, but didn't meet Gabriel's eyes. "Sorry, Gabriel. Not interested." He started sorting through the papers on his counter.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. "Not interested? Alex is in trouble!"

"And?" James replied.

"And? Are you crazy? She could be getting ripped apart- literally!" Gabriel countered

"Gabriel, she's a big girl. She's handed me my ass plenty of times. It's not my problem at the moment-"

"What?" Gabriel scoffed. "You go from sending out 'do me, Alex' flares to… a 'who the hell cares about her' attitude?"

"Not exactly." James replied. "Well, that's not my priority, at least."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Then what-" He stepped forward, then when he felt James touch his wrist and not have it go right through him, he froze. He looked down at James' hand, then back up at James. "The Hell?" He narrowed his eyes when James smirked at him. He didn't know what to think nor do when James brought his other hand up- more so when Gabriel felt something thin and sharp enter his neck. "What the-" He felt for it, and once he got a grip on the object and pulled it out, taking in the sight of a syringe containing a clear yellowish liquid in his hand- a syringe that was getting strangely blurry. In fact, his entire world was spinning. Now that he didn't see coming. "What…?" He repeated once again, turning to James.

James in turn smiled, then a moment later, his face shifted into Soren's. "You? No… Bu… how… I thought?" His mind was racing now. Hell, the new development must have meant that Soren must've been James the whole time. No wonder he seemed like he was always a step ahead of them. There just must've been Soren's own human copy tricks. Gabriel knew that should've worried him more, but the fact that he was feeling much like a human would after getting heavily sedated seemed more important. It didn't make much sense at all. Hell, he was still coming to terms with the fact that he was apparently solid again. Everything was spinning and he couldn't create a coherent thought. He fell to his knees and started to try to regulate his breathing that was getting more shallow by the moment. He failed miserably. "Soren, you… bastard! What… you do to me?" He flinched and blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, which was on the top of the list of things that had gone to Hell.

Soren closed the distance between them. He grabbed a fistful of Gabriel's hair and yanked back on it so his mouth was next to the arch's ear. "Putting the plan to rule into motion. I hope you don't take this personally, brother. I would've settled for doing this to any archangel. Pity it had to be you. I always liked you." He chuckled. "And imagine, the woman who helped you get this far is my old lover. Funny how things work, isn't it?"

Gabriel sagged against his leg, despite trying not to. "Oh, I knew you were looking at me when you got that look back at Rick's. Why didn't I figure… out sooner? Damn it. What'd you do to Alex and Hannah, you son of a bitch? Where are they?" He tried to fight the drug's growing effects to no avail. His vision was getting worse by the second. Just what the Hell had the bastard injected him with and how could it have affected him so fast?

Soren let out a dry laugh. "You need to learn to get back to your old selfish ways, Gabriel. Thinking about others shouldn't be your main worry now."

"And what should?" Gabriel snarled.

Another dry chuckle. "Me,"

Gabriel let out a groan of mixed pain and disgust right before his entire world went black.

* * *

**A/N: Not much to say here other than alternate version of Alex coming back from the dead and talking to Gabe without having to worry about anything. Super-do-dooper cliche, haha.**

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Gabriel smiled. "Welcome back to the Land of the Living, Gorgeous."

Alexandra groaned. "Soren…?"

Gabriel nodded. "Taken care of. Half of him is a pile of ash, the other half of him is gone from existence on any plane of… well, existence. Come on." He took her hand and helped her to her feet.

She went with him and made sure she could stand up properly before she looked at him.

What Gabriel didn't count on was re-closing the distance and smacking him, even moderately lightly. "Ow, okay, what's with your family and spontaneous bodily harm?" .

She started swatting at his chest. "You arrogant, overdramatic, downright intolerable, too obedient… ASSHOLE!" And it was that moment that she chose to close the gap between them and kiss him. The first couple of seconds ended up being somewhat forceful, being that before she had gone for him he had moved to plant one on her to make her shut up. She pulled away. "Thought you were as good as dead. Never ever just walk when I throw a fit like that again, you understand?" She pulled him in for another kiss and he was more than willing to comply. It got gentle and painfully slow, then sped up and quite a bit of groping was added to the embrace. It was clear that they had completely forgotten they had a less-than-welcoming audience.

Dean covered his ears and closed his eyes, muttering to himself about 'the nice hot chick just having to go for the asshole.' Sam wasn't far behind.

Castiel merely blinked, then pulled Julie against him so her face was buried in his trench coat.

Dean opened one eye slowly, taking in Castiel's response. who had been looking for something to get his mind off the angel and the hot chick practically rutting the middle of the room, looked at the agnel. "How'd you know the kid shouldn't see that?"

Castiel glanced at him. "When I was aware of Jimmy's thoughts back a couple of years and I passed by a similar sight I remember he was not thrilled that a child of Julie's age saw them."

"Well, Cas, Jimmy is… was, whatever, a very, very smart man. Now, are they… oh, you two still at it? Come ON! God help you if you go _Hungarian_ with her and send us the result, I swear _I will end you_!"

* * *

**And that's it for the deleted/extended scenes. One last thing for you guys- help me decide what Gabriel!fic Phantom and I should do next. It's basically the same idea with a handful of differences, but we were playing with two plots, and we want you guys to vote on which you'd rather see, if you'd even want to read them. Choices are as follows:**

Just a Little Girl: Gabe/Girl!Sam, set right after this season's finale. Right after those events, the Winchesters are barely into the start of their recovery from both issues. They're both reeling, and things take a turn for their typical form of strange when Gabriel, just about falls out of the sky and in front of the Impala. They patch him up for curiosity's sake. When he comes to, he claims that God brought him back to demote him to be the Winchesters' guardian angel of sorts. Dean's not convinced, but Sam's in no shape to protest. As time passes, Sam finds herself bonding with the archangel, despite their past. However, can Gabriel still be trusted after everything?

Gabe/OC. AU. God brings Gabriel back to do the same thing he died trying to- protect the Winchesters. He sets off to find them, going back to his usual pranking along the way. He finds where the brothers and Castiel are, goes there, and in turn, finds a bakery and hatches an idea on how to tell them he's back. He finds unlikely allies in the three workers in the bakery. The boys find out, and are none too pleased. However, a new Big Bad rolls into town, and the Winchesters figure they could use all the angellic help they can get, whether they like it or not. No one knows that there's more to one of the workers than meets the eye, and their newly assembled team may be too strong for its own good.

* * *

**And that's it. Hope y'all enjoyed Just a Feeling. I look forward to your reviews. :D**


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